From a Washington Post column by Keith B. Richburg headlined “India would not be the first country to change its name”:

A country’s name often is imbued with centuries of history and culture, and might embody the very identity of its people. Changing a name is a monumental step, usually with political overtones.

That’s why heads were turning at the recent Group of 20 meeting in India, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to be not-so-subtly rebranding India by its Hindi and Sanskrit alternative name: Bharat.