etymological history of names of Pakistan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Names of Pakistan include the many modern and historical names given to the land of Pakistan. Much of Pakistan's history is closely connected to the Indus River, the national river of the country, and most names given to Pakistan come from it.[1] The land of Pakistan, the Indus Valley, has had various names throughout its ancient history.[2][3] As a cradle of civilizations, Pakistan has a rich history in how its names came about. Pākistān is the common name used today for the country, it is an acronym for the five different regions of British Raj (Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, Sindh, Baluchistan) and the Princely states that joined together to make the federation of Pakistan.[4][5] Officially, the country is called the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: Islāmī Jumhūriyah Pākistān) since 1973.[6][7]
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Ancient Pakistan, being at the crossroads of civilizations, was split into many kingdoms and empires ruled by local or foreign dynasties, and different areas of the region had different names. The oldest recorded name of Pakistan is Meluhha (𒈨𒈛𒄩𒆠), the Sumerian name for the Indus Country.[8] The oldest recorded native name of the country is "Sapta-Sindhu," meaning the land of seven rivers. This name is mentioned in the Rigveda, an ancient religious book composed in the Punjab region of Pakistan.[9] Chinese called this region as “Shendu (身毒)”, “Tiandu (天篤)” and “Tianzhu (天竺)," specifically referring to the Indus Valley.[10] In the historical records of Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, the land of Pakistan is known as Tenjiku (天竺), Cheonchuk (천축), and Thiên Trúc, respectively. These names are derived from the Chinese version "Tianzhu." Ancient Pakistan, especially the region of Gandhara, had a significant influence on East Asia and was responsible for spreading Buddhism in these countries.[11]
The modern name of the country, Pakistan was coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali, a Pakistan Movement activist and a founder of modern-Pakistan, who in January 1933 first published it (originally as "Pakstan") in a pamphlet Now or Never, also known as the Pakistan Declaration, using it as an acronym. Rahmat Ali explained:
| “ | It is composed of letters taken from the names of all our homelands, Indian and Asian, Panjab, Afghania, Kashmir, Sindh, and Baluchistan. | ” |
He added, "Pakistan is both a Persian and Urdu word... It means the land of the Paks, the spiritually pure and clean."[4] Etymologists note that پاک pāk, is 'pure' in Persian, Urdu and Pashto and the Persian suffix ـستان -stan means 'land' or 'place of'.[12] Sthan or Stan is a very common root word in Indo-European languages. The letter 'I' was added later in Pakstan and stands for the Indus, the national river of Pakistan.[5]
Pakistan is an federation which was formed by the joining of five historic regions of British Raj; Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, Sindh, Baluchistan and numerous Princely states. In the constitution of Pakistan and other government documents it is called as the Federation of Pakistan.[13] From 1947–1956, Pakistan remained a Dominion, and was known as the Dominion of Pakistan, on 23rd March 1956, Pakistan adopted an constitution and officially became the Republic of Pakistan.[14] After Pakistan's first ever general elections the 1973 Constitution was created by an elected Parliament. The Constitution declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic.[15]
Ancient Pakistan has been known by many different names throughout history. The Indus River and its tributaries have shaped and are tied to much of Pakistan's ancient etymological history. Ancient Pakistan was divided into many historic regions which were known by many different names.[3] Traditionally, the Indus is known in Sanskrit as Sindhu, the terms ‘India’ and ‘Indonesia’ were both derived from the Indus River in Pakistan.[16][17]
The oldest recorded name of Ancient Pakistan is Meluhha (𒈨𒈛𒄩𒆠), the Sumerian name for the Indus country. The Indus Valley civilization of Ancient Pakistan had extensive trade connections and were greatly reliant on it. They traded with many different civilizations like Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and possibly China.[20] Indus Valley civilization was also a prominent trading partner of the Sumer during the Middle Bronze Age.[21]
In an old writing, Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BCE) mentioned ships coming from Meluhha, Magan, and Dilmun.[22] His grandson Naram-Sin (2254–2218 BCE) listed rebel kings to his rule, mentioning "(..)ibra, a man from Melukha".[23] In another old writing, Gudea of Lagash (c. 21st century BCE) talked about the Meluhhans who came to Sumer to sell gold dust, carnelian, etc. In the Gudea cylinders, Gudea mentions that:
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"I will spread in the world respect for my Temple, under my name the whole universe will gather in it, and Magan and Meluhha will come down from their mountains to attend."
— Inscription of cylinder A, IX:19[26]
In cylinder B, XIV, he mentions his procurement of "blocks of lapis lazuli and bright carnelian from Meluhha".[27][28] Meluhha is also mentioned in Sumerian mythological legends such as Enki and Ninhursa:
"May the foreign land of Meluhha load precious desirable cornelian, perfect mes wood and beautiful aba wood into large ships for you"
— Enki and Ninhursag[29]
The earliest native mention of Ancient Pakistan is found in the sacred verses of the Rigveda. Which is believed to have been written along the banks of the Indus River and its tributaries in Pakistan.[30] In the Rigveda, the Indus Valley is called "Sapta Sindhua" or "Sapta Sindhu," which means the "land of seven rivers." "Sapt" means seven in the Vedic language. This term is also found in Avestan and Persian as "Hapt" and "Haft," both meaning seven.[31]
The word "Sindhu" itself means sea in the Vedic language, showing how massive the Indus River was. It was so big that the Aryan tribes coming in compared it to a sea. The seven main rivers of the Sapta Sindhu are the Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, Sarasvati and Hakra, covering Ancient Pakistan.[32] In the Rigveda (I.35.8) it states:
“He has surveyed eight summits of the Earth, three shore or desert regions, seven rivers (Sapta Sindhu).” (aṣṭaú vy àkhyat kakúbhaḥ pr̥thivyā́s trī́ dhánva yójanā saptá síndhūn).[33]
The ancient Zoroastrian scripture Zend Avesta also mentions a connected name for Ancient Pakistan (the Indus Valley). It says:
“I and Mazda created the fifteenth country. It is Hapta-hendu and it spans seven rivers”.[34]
The 'S' in Vedic language changes to 'H' in Avestan language. So, Sapta Sindhu becomes Hapta Hendu in the Avestan language. In Zoroastrianism, Hapta Hendu is fifteenth of the sixteen good lands and countries created by Ahura Mazda. The seven rivers in Hapta Hendu are: Indus (Sindhu), Kabul, Kurram, Jhelum (Vitasta), Chenab (Asikni), Ravi (Airovati), Sutlej (Vipasa) rivers joining the Indus in the east and south banks. The Hindu texts are mainly concerned with the eastern & southern tributaries of the Indus while the Zoroastrian texts are concerned with the upper reaches of the Indus and all its tributaries.[35][36]
Around 535 BCE, the Persian king Cyrus the Great started a long campaign to take parts of the Indus Valley into his new Achaemenid Empire. In this first move, the Persian army took control of a big area to the west of the Indus River (Western Pakistan), making the early eastern borders of their new realm. After Cyrus died around 530 BCE, the campaign kept going under Darius the Great, who started to take back old provinces and grow the Achaemenid Empire's political borders even more.[37][38]
Around 518 BCE, the Persian army moved deeper into Ancient Pakistan to start another period of conquest by taking over areas up to the Jhelum River in what is now Punjab.[39] At its height, the Persians managed to control most of modern-day Pakistan and add it to their territory. As shown in many Achaemenid-era writings, the Indus Valley became part of the Persian empire with different regions having their own names like Gandāra, Hindush, Gedrosia, and Sattagydia. These regions of Ancient Pakistan became Satrapies (provinces) of the Achaemenid Empire:[40]
Gandāra, or Gadāra (𐎥𐎭𐎠𐎼) in Achaemenid inscriptions, was one of the easternmost provinces of the Achaemenid Empire in Ancient Pakistan.[41] It was located in northwestern Pakistan in the historic region of Gandhara. Gandāra is mentioned in various Achaemenid inscriptions, such as the Behistun Inscription and the DNa inscription of Darius the Great.[42]
Hindush (𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁), derived from Indus, was another province of the Achaemenid Empire in Ancient Pakistan. It was established after the Achaemenid conquest in 500 BC. According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, it was the "easternmost province" of the empire. The territory of Hindush covered the lower and central Indus basin (present-day Sindh and the southern Punjab region of Pakistan).[45] Hindush bordered Gandāra to the north. These areas remained under Persian control until the invasion by Alexander.[46][47]
Gedrosia was another satrapy (province) of the Achaemenid Empire in Pakistan. Like other satrapies, it was established after the Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley. According to several historians, Gedrosia corresponds to the Makran region of present-day Pakistan.[48][49]
Sattagydia (𐎰𐎫𐎦𐎢𐏁 Thataguš), meaning "country of hundred cows," was one of the easternmost regions of the Achaemenid Empire, part of its Seventh tax district according to Herodotus, in Ancient Pakistan.[50] It was situated east of the Sulaiman Mountains up to the Indus River in the basin around Bannu in modern-day southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.[51][52]
Arachosia, also known as Harauvatis (𐏃𐎼𐎢𐎺𐎫𐎡𐏁 Harauvatiš), was another satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire. It was mainly centred around the Arghandab River, a tributary of the Helmand River, and extended as far east as the Indus river in Ancient Pakistan.[53] It shared its northern boundary with the Gandara satrapy.[54] "Arachosia" is the Latinized form of Greek Ἀραχωσία (Arachōsíā). "The same region appears in the Avestan Vidēvdāt (1.12)." In Old Persian inscriptions, the region is referred to as 𐏃𐎼𐎢𐎺𐎫𐎡𐏁, written h(a)-r(a)-u-v(a)-t-i. This form is the "etymological equivalent" of Vedic Sanskrit Sarasvatī-, the name of a river literally meaning "rich in waters/lakes" and derived from sáras- "lake, pond." (cf. Aredvi Sura Anahita).[55]
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In Chinese historical records, many different names are used to refer to the Indus Valley (i.e. Ancient Pakistan). Among these, the most common is Tianzhu (天竺) or the "land of a Thousand Bamboos" (Vietnamese: Thiên Trúc). Other names include "Ấn Độ" (Yindu, 印度), "Thân Độc" (Shendu, 身毒), and "Thận Đậu" (Shendou, 腎豆), all of which are variant transcriptions of "Indus," the national river of Pakistan. At first, Tianzhu only meant the Indus Valley of Pakistan, but later on, it started to be used to refer to all of the Indo-Pak subcontinent.[56][57]
A detailed account of Tianzhu is given in the "Xiyu Zhuan" (Record of the Western Regions) in the Hou Hanshu compiled by Fan Ye (398–445):
"The state of Tianzhu: Also, named Yuandu, it lies several thousand li southeast of Yuezhi. Its customs are the same as those of Yuezhi, and it is low, damp, and very hot. It borders a large river. The inhabitants ride on elephants in warfare; they are weaker than the Yuezhi. They practise the way of Futu [the Buddha], [and therefore] it has become a custom [among them] not to kill or attack [others]. From west of the states Yuezhi and Gaofu, and south until the Western Sea, and east until the state of Panqi, all is the territory of Yuandu. Yuandu has several hundred separate towns, with a governor, and separate states which can be numbered in the tens, each with its own king. Although there are small differences among them, they all come under the general name of Yuandu, and at this time all are subject to Yuezhi. Yuezhi have killed their kings and established a general in order to rule over their people. The land produces elephants, rhinoceros, tortoise shell, gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin. It communicates to the west with Da Qin [the Roman Empire], and [so] has the exotica of Da Qin.[58]"
The term "Shendu" comes from "Sindhu" in Sanskrit and "Hindu" in Iranian, referring to the Indus valley. Originally, it was pronounced as "l̥induk" or "*qʰl'iːn tuɡ" in Old Chinese.[59] This came from the Chinese way of saying the Old Persian word "Hindush (𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁)," and the Sanskrit word "Sindhu," the original name of the Indus River. Tianzhu is just one of the many ways that Chinese write Sindhu, with other ways like Yuāndú (身毒) in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian and Tiandu (天篤) in the Book of the Later Han. The word "Yintejia" (印特伽) comes from the Kuchean "Indaka," another way of writing "Hindu". The modern words "Hindu" and "India" also come from this pronounciation of the Indus river of Ancient Pakistan.[60]
In Japan, Tianzhu was said as Tenjiku (天竺). This word for the Indus Valley is used in the Japanese translation of the Journey to the West.[61] Meanwhile in Korea, Tianzhu was said as Cheonchuk (천축). This variant of Indus is used in Wang ocheonchukguk jeon (An Account of Travel to the Five Indus Kingdoms), a book by the 8th-century Buddhist monk Hyecho from the Korean Kingdom of Silla.[62]
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The words Hindū (Persian: هندو) and Hind (Persian: هند) came from the Sanskrit word Sindhu (the Indus River or its region). The Achaemenid emperor Darius I conquered the Indus valley (Ancient Pakistan) in about 516 BCE, upon which the Achaemenid equivalent of Sindhu, viz., "Hindush" (𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁, H-i-du-u-š) was used for the lower Indus basin (modern-day Sindh).[52][63] The name was also known as far as the Achaemenid province of Egypt where it was written 𓉔𓈖𓂧𓍯𓇌 (H-n-d-wꜣ-y) on the Statue of Darius I, circa 500 BCE.[64]
In middle Persian, probably from the first century CE, the suffix -stān (Persian: ستان) was added, indicative of a country or region, forming the name Hindūstān.[65] Thus, the region of Sindh during this time was referred to as Hindūstān in the Naqsh-e-Rustam inscription of Sassanid emperor Shapur I in c. 262 CE.[66][67]
Both the names were current in Persian and Arabic from the 11th century Islamic conquests: the rulers in the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal periods called their dominion, centered around Lahore and Delhi, "Hindustan" (ہندوستان) also spelled Hindostan. In contemporary Persian and Urdu language, the term Hindustan has recently come to mean the Republic of India but orignally it means the Indus Valley region of Ancient Pakistan.[68][69] The term Hindustan is also used today to refer to the Indo-Pak subcontinent.[70][71] Muhammad Iqbal, the national poet of Pakistan, in his poem Tarānah-i-Hindī, meaning the "Anthem of the People of Hindustan", described Hindustan as:
Sāre jahāṉ se acchā, Hindositāṉ hamārā
Ham bulbuleṉ haiṉ is kī, yih gulsitāṉ hamārāTranslation:
Better than the entire world, is our Hindustan,
We are its nightingales, and it (is) our garden abode
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لهند) in the year seven and ninety".To Arab Historians, the region on Pakistan was known as Bilad ul-Sindh meaning the 'Land of Sindh (Indus)' or in short Sind (Sindhi: سنڌ).[73][74] The word Sind is an arabic derivation of the word Sindhu, the native name of the Indus Valley. Sindh, Pakistan became an administrative division of the Umayyad Caliphate and later of the Abbasid Caliphate in post-classical period, from around 711 CE with the Umayyad conquest of Sindh by the Arab military commander Muhammad ibn al-Qasim, to around 854 CE with the emergence of the independent dynasties of the Habbarid Emirate and the Emirate of Multan.[75] The "Governor of Sind" (Arabic: عامل السند, ‘āmil al-Sind) was an official who administered the caliphal province over what are now Sindh and South Punjab in Pakistan, with Makran in Balochistan also usually being under his control.[76]
Early Islamic geography was a subject that kept changing. However, one idea that Muslim geographers believed at first was dividing South Asia into Sindh and Hind. Sindh meant the Indus Valley (Pakistan), and Hind meant the rest of South Asia.[77]
The geographer Ibn Khordadbeh (820-912 CE) described 'Sindh' (the Indus Valley) in the 9th century. He said Sindh included parts of the Indus basin and much of modern Pakistan. His Sindh covered regions like Makran, Turan, al-Qiqan, Multan, and Sindh proper. It pretty much included today's Balochistan, Sindh, and parts of Punjab as well.[77]
Besides Sindh being a geographic area and a strong kingdom before it was conquered, Muslims probably used this naming to tell Sindh and Hind apart. They wanted to show which areas had many Muslims and which were beyond the Islamic world's borders.[78]
This religious and geographic difference is clear in the early Muslim book Kitab Al Masalik Wa Mamalik [The Book of Roads and Countries]. The author talks about South Asia by saying "Sindh-wal-Hind" (Sindh and Hind), showing the parts under Muslim rule and the non-Muslim apart.[77]
The separation of South Asia based on religion done by Arab geographers seems to have become a deeply rooted idea in the Islamic world. Later, in the 11th century, Ghaznavid chroniclers Utbi and Gardezi often called the Indus River (Pakistan) as "Sayhun," which was the name of the Jaxartes River in Central Asia. Clifford Bosworth, an English historian, says they did this because both rivers marked the border between the land of Islam and Paganism.[78]
The English name India comes from the Ancient Greek word Ἰνδική (Indikē)[a] or Ἰνδία (Indía), via Latin transliteration India.[79] The name historically means the land of the Indus river, which today is the national river of Pakistan.[23][80][81]
The name ultimately comes from Sanskrit Sindhu, which is another native name for the Indus River and the lower Indus basin (Sindh, Pakistan).[23][82] The Old Persian word for Síndhu was Hindu.[83] Darius I conquered Sindh around 516 BCE, after which the Persian word Hinduš was used for the area at the lower Indus basin in Ancient Pakistan.[84] Scylax of Caryanda, who explored the Indus for the Persian emperor, probably took the Persian name Hinduš and passed it into Greek.[85] The terms "Indos" (Ἰνδός) for the Indus River and "Indian" are found in Herodotus's Geography.[86] The loss of the /h/ sound was probably due to the Greek dialects spoken in Asia Minor.[87][88] Hecataeus used the term "India" and "Indians" in a strict sense for the groups dwelling in Sindh (Ancient Pakistan) only.[89] Herodotus later expanded it and used the term "Indian" for the people of the lower Indus basin (modern-Pakistan) and all the people living east of Persia, even though he did not know the geography of the land.[77]
By the time of Alexander, Indía in Koine Greek meant the region beyond the Indus. Alexander's companions called India the Indus river basin, which is mainly the area of Pakistan. Later, Megasthenes included in India the areas beyond the Indus basin, including the southern peninsula.[90]
Hodu (הֹדּוּ) is the Biblical Hebrew name for the Indus Valley (Ancient Pakistan) mentioned in the Book of Esther.[91][92] Which is part of the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Old Testament. In Esther, 1:1 and 8:9, Ahasuerus had been described as Persian King ruling 127 provinces from Hodu (Indus Valley) to Ethiopia. The Hebrew term seemingly derives from the Sanskrit term for the Indus river Sindhu via Old Persian Hiñdu/Hinduš.[93][94] Ester 1:1-2 narrates:
It was in the days of Ahasuerus (Xerxes) who reigned from Hodu (Indus Valley) to Cush (Ethiopia) over 127 provinces, in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne which was at the citadel in Susa [the capital of the Persian Empire].[95]
Similarly, Esther 8:9 narrates:
The king's scribes were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day. And an edict was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces from Hodu (Indus Valley) to Ethiopia (Cush), 127 provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language.[96]
Historically, the name Hodu was used only for the area of the Indus Valley in Pakistan, which at that time part of the Persian empire.[97][92] However, today in Hebrew, the term "Hodu" is used to refer to the Republic of India. This shift happened during the colonial era when the term "India" was used by the British for the entire subcontinent, including both modern-day India and Pakistan. Following the partition and the naming dispute, the newly established country (Republic of India) adopted the colonial name India.[98][b]
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