Hindustan is derived from the
Modern Persian word
Hindū. In Old Persian, the region beyond the
Indus River was referred to as
Hinduš (the
Iranic equivalent of
SanskritSindhu[3]), hence Modern Persian
Hind,
Hindū. This combined with the Persian suffix
-stān (meaning literally "place", and having the same origin as the Sanskrit word
sthān and the English word "stand") results in
Hindustan, "land of
Hind".
By about the first century BC, the term "Hein-tu" was used by the
Chinese to refer to North Indian people.
[4][5] The term came into common use under the rule of the Mughals, who referred to their dominion, centered on Delhi and Punjab, as 'Hindustan'.
وکیپیڈیا