The word Hindu is not a religious word. It is secular in origin. It is derived from the word Sindhu, which is the name of a major river that flows in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. The ancient Greeks and Armenians used to refer the people living beyond the river Sindhu as Hindus and gradually the name struck. When the Muslims came to the sub continent they called the people living in the region as Hindustanis to distinguish them from the foreign Muslims. Subsequently when the British established their rule, they started calling the local religions collectively under the name of Hinduism.
It is interesting to note that the word is neither Sanskrit nor Dravidian and did not originate in India. It was not used by Indians in their descriptions or writings till the 17th century. If we go by the original definition of the word Hindu, any one who lives in the subcontinent is a Hindu and whatever religion he or she practices is Hinduism. The word Hindu is a secular word and literally translated it means Indian and the word Hinduism denotes any religion or religions that are practiced by the multitude of people living in the land beyond the river Indus.
RE:What is the Fight For!!
by abboral boral on Dec 09, 2007 10:42 AM Permalink
You have realy brought a new theory about hinduism and hindusthani from Indus river,perhaps you have not studied properly Upanishad,Bed,Puran ,Ramayana,Mahabharat,Gita by Lord krishna which are 5000 to 10000 yeras old studies of Hinduism .Please dont make mochery of Hinduism .Hindism is the most tolerate and there are no such a particular god people workship.Actually people workship spirituality of different spiritual persons came in different stages in different scriptures of the above books written by various sages and spiritual leaders of that era .Hinduism is a mixer of thousands of spiritual sects existed before all other religions in the world came and preached by different kind of people .So please dont just write lightly about Hinduism.One should study deeply about Hinduism .