by Dhaval Rathod
Many messages have been circulating on several social media platforms claiming that the name 'India' is an acronym, and has been derived from phrases that speak of a British influence or propaganda. Let us put all the rumors to rest, and tell you that the claims are totally unfounded, and the name 'India' is not at all an acronym, and it is far from having any British touch to it.
The name 'India' is derived from Indos originating from the Old Persian word Hindush which has its roots as deep as the Sanskrit word Sindhu. Hindush was a province of the Iranian Achaemenid Empire around the year 500 BC near the Indus region. Sindhu is the historical local name for the Indus River, and was also used to refer to the basin region around the river. The Indians were known among the ancient Greeks as Indoi, which translates to 'the people of the Indus'.
The message also entails the names of other countries which have their names in the English language same as their native language. The message, through this argument, then culminates into a question about Bharata being called 'India'. However, anyone with a sufficiently sound global perspective would know that there are several other countries whose names in English and in their native language are different. Spain is España in Spanish, Germany is Deutschland in German, and France is française in French to name a few.