Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c13.s3.t2.2

v2.c13.s3.t2.2

The English name of India originated from the Indus River. Indian people called this cradle of civilisation, Sindhu (the original meaning of which is river). The Persians transformed Sindhu into “Hindu” and the word Hindu was subsequently transformed into “Indu”. The name of India was introduced into Greece by the Persians. The Greeks used the name of this river in western India as the name for the whole of India.