Hindustan - Where did it come from

I was always curious about how we derived the name of our nation. I am currently reading ’Call to Honour’ by Jaswant Singh and he has given some interesting insight into how we derived the name of our nation.

Originally the persian settlers in India called the country ’Hind’ after the indus river. the people living beyond the indus river thus were called hindus and eventually the country got the name Hindustan.

It is interesting to note that the word is neither Sanskrit nor Dravidian and did not originate in India. It was not used by Indians in their descriptions or writings till the 17th century. If we go by the original definition of the word Hindu, any one who lives in the subcontinent is a Hindu and whatever religion he or she practices is Hinduism. The word Hindu is a secular word and literally translated it means Indian and the word Hinduism denotes any religion or religions that are practiced by the multitude of people living in the land beyond the river Indus.

rgds,

devkant.