The streets of India’s capital were rife with speculation Wednesday that the government might be about to scrap the use of the country’s English name — a dramatic new step in an effort to break with its colonial heritage and appeal to its hard-line Hindu nationalist base.

The rumors were fueled by a state-issued invite to a dinner reception for world leaders during next weekend’s G20 summit, which referred to the country’s head as the “President of Bharat” — the Hindi or Sanskrit version of the word “India.”

“Better late than never,” Akash Tiwari, a private security officer in New Delhi, told NBC News of the rumored change. “It used to be Bharat before. The change is good,” he added.

[Hard-line Hindu nationalism has grown considerably over the last few years, and not just in terms of conflicts with the native Muslim minority. Christian communities have been harassed and worse in recent years, too. This may be a test to see how strong that movement really is. — Ed]