Bharat or Bharatvarsha is the ancient name for India. Bharat has a geographical boundary, a common political consciousness and a cultural identity of its own. The root word Bha means Knowledge and rathi means lover. So etymologically, the word Bharat means "the lover of knowledge". The names, Hindu , Sindu , Hindustan, India were used as synonymous names during various period. But the Word Bharat was in use right from Vedic period to till date. The constitution of country says “ India that is Bharat is a federation of states”.

The unity of India is based on Hindu religion, Sanskrit language, a distinct culture, social institutions, art, literature and a protected geography. The land is self sufficient in al respect with fertile land, immense riches and technology, so not dependent on other regions. The boundaries of Bharat is protected by mountain and sea and she in her own has only very rarely launched political conquest outside her borders. Her conquest has always been in the realm of culture and religion, and even the kingdoms that she established in the South East Asia partake more of a cultural character.

Peaceful coexistence was always the motto of Hindu civilization. The civilization has a successful mechanism to go deep into the illiterate masses the emotional and intellectual elements of culture. Storytelling and opera from the Purana and Itihasa attracted masses in every centuries. Parivrajaka - the travelling mendicants, the pilgrim who took the pain to travel to every nook and corner of the country contributed very much to the cultural unity of the country. An orthodox Hindu while taking a bath utter the mantra, oh ye gange and Yamune, Godavari and Saraswati, Oh Narmada, Sindu and Kaveri reside in this water (in which I am taking bath). Then, he feels inwardly, he is part of whole of India, the sacred land of his ancestors. The ghats on the bank of river Ganga in Kasi is another example of peaceful coexistence of various rulers of the country for religious reason. So, as Vivekananda quoted, the cultural nationalism of the country was always intact even during its worst time of foreign aggression.

Vishnu Purana (2.3.1) defines India as land lying north of sea and south of Himalayas – uttarain yat samudrasya Himadrescaiva daksinarh, varsam tad Bharatam. This popular quote shows the use of the word Bharath during the puranic age. Similarly there is reference in Mahabharata for Bharat as the land of descendents of King Bharata. The reference to the boundary and culture of land from Kalidasa work (Kumarasambhavam 1.1 and landscape description in Meghasandesa) further show the continuity of the ancient culture. Asetu Himachala, the bridge that connect Rameswaram with Srilanka to Himalaya as the Indian territory is a common term in Indian literature.