Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

History

Chapter

Medieval India: Through the Eyes of Travellers

Question:
The _______________ referred to the people east of the Indus as "Hindu", their land as "Hindustan", and their language as "Hindavi".
Options:
Arabs
Persian
Central Asian Tribes
Turks
Correct Answer:
Turks
Explanation:
The term “Hindu” was derived from an Old Persian word, used c. sixth-fifth centuries BCE, to refer to the region east of the river Sindhu (Indus). The Arabs continued the Persian usage and called this region “al-Hind” and its people “Hindi”. Later the Turks referred to the people east of the Indus as “Hindu”, their land as “Hindustan”, and their language as “Hindavi”. None of these expressions indicated the religious identity of the people. It was much later that the term developed religious connotations.