Read this short paragraph on the nomenclature of India:

This country has been variously named as India, Hindustan, Bharat and Aryavarta. The word India has its origin in the Greek literature meaning the land of 4ndoi’, the people living near the Indos (latin Indus).

Persians and Greeks extended the name Sindhu — ‘the river’ from the Indus.

Thus it was called Hindustan—the land of Hindus in Persian and other West Asian languages. The term Hindu is derived from Sindhu. The Persians pronounce ‘S’ as ‘H’ and thus they called Sindhu as Hindu. The land to the east of the Sindhu was called Hindustan.

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In the Hindu literature the sub-continent as a whole is styled as Bharat or Bharat-Varsha, the land of the legendary King Bharata who visualised the fundamental unity of the country. However, some scholars believe that the name has been derived from the Bharath tribe, who among others inhabited the area.

In the European languages it is popularly known as India. The name Aryavarta refers to the land of the Aryan race. At present only India and Bharat are officially recognised, although Hindustan is also in common use.

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