How Modi Has Been Rewriting India’s ‘Civilizational Identity’ Since 2014

• What happens to a nation when it finally wakes up after centuries of being told who it is?
• What happens when a people realize that their history, their institutions, even their street names were designed not to empower them — but to remind them of their subjugation?
• What happens when a country discovers that freedom is not merely about changing governments, but about reclaiming the very vocabulary of its existence?
• And what happens when a leader decides that the story of India must finally be written by Indians, not by colonial curators?

This is the pivot India has experienced since 2014 — a civilizational renewal disguised as governance. And Narendra Modi has made “decolonization” not a slogan, but a structural rewiring of the Indian state.

This is not about nostalgia. This is about narrative.
Not about renaming. This is about reclaiming.
Not about symbolism alone.
This is about sovereignty — cultural, psychological, and institutional.

Below is a deep-dive into how Modi has been systematically decolonizing India across institutions, ideologies, and identity markers.

The Renaming of the State: A Psychological Reset

Colonialism always begins with names — because to name something is to own it.

Modi’s government began correcting this imbalance from the very start.

From Planning Commission to NITI Aayog (2015)

The “Planning Commission” was a Soviet-imported bureaucratic relic. It centralized power, infantilized states, and reflected a top–down, colonial-style command structure.

“NITI Aayog” (National Institution for Transforming India) replaced it — rooted in Indic terminology and built on cooperative federalism. This wasn’t cosmetic. This was a declaration that India would think in its own language again.

From Rajpath to Kartavya Path (2022)

Rajpath — literally “the King’s Way”. An imperial boulevard designed for colonizers to showcase power over the conquered.

Kartavya Path — “the path of duty” — shifts the gaze from authority to responsibility, from rulers to citizens.

It is a civilizational upgrade in one stroke.

Renaming of Roads, Buildings, and Institutions in New Delhi

• Aurangzeb Road became Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Road.
• Dalhousie Road became Dara Shikoh Road.
• Teen Murti Complex was renamed “Teen Murti Haifa Chowk”.
• The “Race Course Road” became “Lok Kalyan Marg”.

Every renaming moves India from the language of subservience to the vocabulary of self-respect.

Decolonizing Government Institutions

Replacing the English-era Lutyens ecosystem. Lutyens’ Delhi was designed to project British grandeur and Indian inferiority. Modi has systematically broken this psychological fortress:

• New Parliament Building
• Central Vista redevelopment
• Aatmanirbhar Bharat architecture and symbolism
• Removal of colonial emblems from insignia, awards, and protocols

Reclaiming Historical Narratives

Modi has re-anchored Indian state identity around indigenous heroes who were ignored or demonized by colonial and Nehruvian historians:

• Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose honoured at India Gate canopy
• Removal of colonial symbols from Navy ensign
• Reviving national memory around Rani Lakshmi Bai, Lachit Borphukan, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and Ahom, Maratha, and Vijayanagara legacies
• Museum of Prime Ministers and Yuge Yugeen Bharat Mega Museum on Indian civilization

Bharat as a civilizational state, not a post-colonial leftover

The shift from “India” to “Bharat” in several official documents and events is not cosmetic. It is ideological. It is psychological. It is historical reclamation.

Decolonizing Language & Education

NEP 2020: Ending Macaulay’s Curse. For 190 years, India followed the Macaulay education model — designed to create clerks, not thinkers. Modi’s NEP breaks that spine:

• Mother-tongue instruction in foundational years
• Indian Knowledge Systems integration
• Reclaiming ancient Indian contributions to science, math, astronomy, governance, and philosophy
• Abolition of rote learning
• Encouraging creativity, critical thinking, and vocational excellence 

For the first time in two centuries, Indian education speaks the language of India again.

Decolonizing Symbols of Power

Bidding Goodbye to the Colonial Raj-era Mindset. The abolition of colonial-era laws like:

• Sedition (Section 124A replaced)
• Outdated Criminal Procedures
• 100+ colonial-era useless Acts repealed

Modi’s new criminal codes — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam — mark a return to jurisprudence grounded in Indic civilizational ethos rather than Victorian anxieties.

Revival of Temple Civilization

Grand reconstructions at Varanasi (Kashi Corridor), Kedarnath, Mahakal, and Ram Mandir are not temple rejuvenations — they are civilizational restorations. For the first time since Aurangzeb and the East India Company, India is rebuilding what was systematically destroyed.

Decolonizing National Pride

From “Idea of India” to India’s Own Idea of Itself. Modi’s tenure has reversed the old intellectual hierarchy where Western validation mattered more than Indian heritage. India no longer apologizes for Sanatana Dharma. India no longer hides its past. India no longer seeks permission to define its identity.

This psychological liberation is the biggest decolonization project of all.

Why This Decolonization Matters

• Because a nation that does not control its narrative will always be controlled by others.
• Because symbolism is not vanity — it is identity.
• Because institutions do not shape destiny until they reflect the soul of a people.
• And because reclaiming the civilizational core is not regression — it is rejuvenation.

Final Thoughts: The Road Ahead

India’s decolonization is not complete. It has only begun. And the questions that now confront the nation are crucial:

• Will India continue rewriting its own script?
• Will every institution ultimately reflect Bharat’s civilizational ethos?
• Will cultural confidence become India’s default posture?
• Will the next generation grow up Indian in thought — not merely Indian by passport?

If India stays the course, this century will not be remembered as the Asian Century. It will be remembered as the Bharatiya Century — the era when a once-colonized civilization finally reclaimed its voice, its pride, and its place in the world.