
Geographical map of Hindustan
Hindustan (Hindi:हिन्दुस्तान Hindustān ) "land of Hindus", is one of the
names of India
popular in
the Middle East.
Etymology
Hindustan
is derived from the word Hindu, which is derived from
Sindhu
, Sanskrit for the Indus River
. Sindhu is a river in Sanskrit, in Persian
it becomes Hindu. This together with a popular suffix
-stān (Sanskrit word 'sthāna' meaning
place, later turned to 'stan') gave birth to the word
Hindustan, which was rendered as
Hindusthan.
Literally, the word means
land of the Hindus
Uses of the word "Hindustan"
Geographical areas
Historically, Hindustan has often
been used by Muslims and other Urdu speakers to represent the people of north western
India
and Pakistan
,
particularly the Indo-Gangetic
Plain and Punjab.
The first
known use of the term is on an inscription at Naqsh-e Rustam
. The Farsi inscription,
which dates to around 252 CE, was commissioned by the Persian
king,
Shapur I, and mentions Hindustan as one of
the areas over which he rules. In this context,
Hindustan likely refers to the lower Indus Valley
region in modern day Pakistan rather than the
Indian
subcontinent.
Further,
it may relate to various aspects belonging to three geographical areas: the modern Republic of India
, the Indian
subcontinent during medieval times, or a region in northern India, east and south of the
Yamuna
river, between the Vindhya
mountains
and the Himalayas
where Hindustani
languages are spoken.
Culture and ethnicity
The Urdu
term Hindustan as opposed it's Hindi counterpart Bharat
, retains its
importance amongst Islamic people as it
gives culture identity to India and the Indian Subcontinent, amidst the varied
culture of India. The
adjective,
Hindustani, used to define the people of
Hindustan, their language,
Hindustani language, and also their
music,
Hindustani classical
music. The adjective
Hindustani is a term broadly
applied to the
Urdu speaking culture of South
Asia, and is also freely used by
Urdu speaking
Indian Muslims, in the context of their Indo-Islamic
heritage.
In the
Middle East Hindustani
is used as an
ethnic term applied to
South Asia. In Iran,
Hindustan refers to the region (India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh and other South Asian countries) whereas "Hind" refers
to the modern Indian republic. The
Dutch
language sometimes uses the word
Hindoestanen to describe any person of
South Asian origin.
See also
Further reading
- A Sketch of the History of Hindustan from the First Muslim
Conquest to the Fall of the Mughol Empire by H. G. Keene.
- STORY OF INDIA THROUGH THE AGES; An Entertaining History of
Hindustan, to the Suppression of the Mutiny, by Flora Annie
Steel, 1909 E.P. Dutton and Co., New York.
- The History of Hindustan: Post Classical and Modern,
Ed. B.S. Danniya and Alexander Dow. 2003, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN
8120819934.
References
- Hindustan The English Historical Review, Vol. 2, No. 5
(Jan., 1887), pp. 180-181.
- Flora Annie Steel Book Review, February 20, 1909, New York Times.
- History of Hindustan (First published: 1770-1772). Dow had
succeeded his father as the private secretary of Mughal Emperor
Aurangzeb.