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Hindustan (Hindi: हिन्दुस्तान)
pronunciation (help·info), (Urdu: ہندوستان)(Bengali: হিন্দুস্তান), both Hindustān [ɦɪnd̪ʊˈst̪aːn]), Hindoostan, literally "land of the Indus", is a popular name for the northwestern Indian subcontinent.[1][2]
Etymology
Hindustan is derived from the Modern Persian word Hindū. In Old Persian, the region beyond the Indus River was referred to as Hinduš (the Iranian equivalent of Sanskrit Sindhu[3]), hence Modern Persian Hind, Hindū. This combined with the Iranian suffix -stān results in Hindustan, "land of the Indus". By about 1st century BCE, the term "Hein-tu" was used by Chinese, for referring to North Indian people.[4][5] The term came into common use under the rule of the Mughals who referred to their dominion, centered on Delhi, as 'Hindustan'.
Current usage
Geographic area
Historically, the term "Hindustan" is usually applied to the Gangetic Plain of North India, between the Himalayas and the Vindhyas.[6]
Further, it may pertain to numerous 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.
In modern Persian, Urdu and Hindi, Hindustan and its abbreviated version Hind, usually refer to the current Republic of India. The abbreviated version appears in the common nationalist salutation of India, Jai Hind, coined by Major Abid Hasan Safrani of the Indian National Army as a shortened version of Jai Hindustan Ki (translation: Victory to India).[7] It was popularized by Subhas Chandra Bose, who used it on Azad Hind Radio during the Indian independence movement. It appears in the revered song, Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon. Today, it is widely used as a salutation and a battle cry in the Indian Armed Forces. It is also commonly used to sign off at the end of major speeches.
People
In its current usage in India, the term 'Hindustani' refers to an Indian, irrespective of religious affiliation.
Hindustani is sometimes used as an ethnic term applied to South Asia (e.g., a Surinamese man with roots in South Asia might describe his ethnicity by saying he is Hindustani.) For example, Hindoestanen is a Dutch word used to describe people of South Asian origin, in Netherlands and Suriname.
In Pakistan, the term 'Hindustani' was also infrequently used to refer to Urdu-speaking people in Karachi and Hyderabad, Sindh, who migrated from India during the partition of 1947.[citation needed] However, these people are now commonly referred to as Muhajirs.
More formally, in the proper disciplines of Geography and History, Hindustan refers to the region of the upper and middle Ganges valley; Hindustan by this definition is the Hindustani "heartland" located between (but not including) the distinct regions of Afghanistan in the northwest and Assam in the north-east.
Language
Hindustani is also used to refer to the Hindustani language, which derives from the Khariboli dialect of Western Uttar Pradesh, Southern Uttarakhand New Delhi and Bihar areas.
Popular culture
Hindustan is the title of a 1918 popular song written by Oliver Wallace & Harold Weeks. It was popularized in recordings by a duet of Henry Burr & Albert Campbell on Columbia and the dance orchestra of Joseph C. Smith on Victor. It was revived in 1948 by Ted Weems on Mercury featuring the whistling of Elmo Tanner. Bing Crosby & Rosemary Clooney recorded a duet for the 1958 album Fancy Meeting You Here.
See also
References
- ↑ "Hindustan: Definition". Thefreedictionary.com. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ↑ Sindh: An Introduction
- ↑ Lipner 1998, pp. 7–8
- ↑ "Khotanese Texts, Volume 7", p. 23, by Harold Walter Bailey
- ↑ "Foreign Influence on Ancient India", by Krishna Chandra Sagar, p. 6
- ↑ "Hindustan". Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
- ↑ Leonard A. Gordon (1990). Brothers Against the Raj. Columbia University Press.
Further reading
- A Sketch of the History of Hindustan from the First Muslim Conquest to the Fall of the Mughal Empire by H. G. Keene. (Hindustan The English Historical Review, Vol. 2, No. 5 (Jan., 1887), pp. 180–181.)
- 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. (as recommended by the New York Times; Flora Annie Steel Book Review, February 20, 1909, New York Times.)
- The History of Hindustan: Post Classical and Modern, Ed. B.S. Danniya and Alexander Dow. 2003, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-1993-4. (History of Hindustan (First published: 1770-1772). Dow had succeeded his father as the private secretary of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.)
Coordinates: 20°00′N 78°00′E / 20.000°N 78.000°E