Why the name of our great nation should be changed from India to Hindusthan.

Tuesday, November 7, 2006 Why the name of our great nation, should be changed from, 'INDIA' to 'HINDUSTHAN'? I strongly feel that the name of our great nation should be changed from 'INDIA' to 'HINDUSTHAN'. When we can change the British-made names of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta to Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, then why can’t we change the British-made name of 'INDIA' to 'HINDUSTHAN'? It seems that we are hanging to the name 'INDIA' to proclaim loudly to the world that we were a former British colony i.e. former slaves of the British. Just look at Pakistan and Bangladesh. Pakistan means 'Land of the pure' in Urdu (Pakistan’s national language) and Bangladesh means 'Bangla (Bengali) nation' in Bengali (Bangladesh’s national language). Can anyone please tell me what on earth does the name 'INDIA' mean? The name of our great nation should be changed from 'INDIA' to 'HINDUSTHAN' for the following reasons: 1) There is an ancient Sanskrit shloka (sacred verse) found in the Brhaspati Samhita, which is a part of the Garuda Purana. Himalayam Samaarabhya Yaavad Indu Sarovaram, Tam Deva Nirmitam Desham Hindusthanam Prachakshate. The actual translation of the above shloka is: From the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean, that land created by the Devas (Gods) is called Hindusthan. The elaborate meaning of the above shloka is: That land which stretches from the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean (In Sanskrit the Indian Ocean is called ‘Indu Sarovaram’, which means ‘Ocean of the moon’), has been created by the Devas (Gods) and is called Hindusthan. The word Hindusthan is very significant, special and meaningful. In the word Hindusthan, Hi – stands for Himalayas, Indu – stands for Indu Sarovaram (Indian Ocean) and Sthan – stands for place or land. Therefore the word Hindusthan means ‘The land stretching from the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean’. Can there be any better name for our great nation? Definitely not. 2) The word Hindusthan also has another meaning. Hi – stands for Hiranya (Hiranya is one of the names of the Sun God, which means ‘The Golden One’) and Indu is one of the names of the Moon God. Those who are familiar with the great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata may know that Rama belonged to the Solar Race i.e. Surya Vamsha and the Pandavas belong to the Lunar Race i.e. Chandra Vamsha. Hence the word Hindusthan can also be taken to mean ‘The Land that was ruled by the rulers of both the Solar and Lunar Race’. 3) The word Hindusthan also means ‘The Land between the Himalayas and the Sindhu River (Sanskrit name of the river Indus)’. The above three reasons clearly prove that there is absolutely nothing religious about the name ‘HINDUSTHAN’. Therefore, all people who regard Hindusthan as their homeland should call themselves ‘Hindusthanis’ instead of ‘Indians’ which sounds very slavish. 4) The word ‘Hindusthan’ is a Hindi word derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Hindusthanam’. It makes perfect sense for our nation to have a name derived from the Sanskrit language, since: v Sanskrit is the mother of most of the languages spoken in our nation. Especially, our national language Hindi is very closely related to Sanskrit. v The great and important literatures of our nation such as Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Sreemad Bhagavatham, Ramayana, Mahabharatha, Bhagavad Geeta, the works of Sree Adi Shankaracharya, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the works of great astronomers like Aryabhatta, Bhaskaracharya, great mathematicians like Baudhayana, Brahmagupta, great astrologers like Varahamihira, great physicians like Susruta (surgery) and Charaka (medicine), Panchatantra of Pandit Vishnu Sharma (oldest surviving collection of tales in the world and one of Sanskrit’s most important and influential contributions to world literature), Artha Shastra of Kautilya (Chanakya) – (a great statesman and Prime Minister of Chandragupta Maurya)…etc…etc…etc…are all in the Sanskrit language………The list of great and important Sanskrit literatures of our nation is almost endless. v The Sanskrit language has made the greatest contribution to our nation’s literature and culture. Therefore, If you are really patriotic and If you are really proud to be born in this great nation Please send this article to everyone you know. I believe that small changes are the beginning of great changes. Hence the first step towards changing the destiny of our nation would be to change its name. HINDUSTHAN is our homeland. We are all HINDUSTHANIS. HINDUSTHAN AMAR RAHE. HINDUSTHAN ZINDABAD. JAI HIND. Yours Patriotically, A. Narendran I sincerely request all the readers of this article to give their valuable comments and suggestions. 8:11:10 PM Posted By Narendran Ashok Comments (1) Politics Comments K.Venugopal Tuesday, November 7, 2006 9:23:03 PM Our nation is best called Hindu Rashtra and its citizens Hindus.