Origin of India's name

The first Article of the Constitution of India, which deals with the official name, states that "India, that is Bharat, shall be a union of states." Thus, not only in usage but officially India and Bharat are both accorded primary status. The name India is derived from Sindhu, the local name for the river Indus. Interestingly the Vedas did not assign any particular name for India, although some scholars assert that references to Indu in the Rig Veda relate to India's present name. The name "Bharat" is derived from either of two ancient Hindu kings named Bharata. "Bha" in sanskrit means knowledge or light, and "rat" is a verb for 'doing'. Bharat is therefore 'the one who is in search of knowledge.' Both names are commonly in use. Hindustan is another name which has been used from the time of its introduction in Mughal times onwards referring to the 'land of the Hindus' (Hindu meaning one of Indus/Sindhu origin, i.e. Indian, 'stan' land). The association of Hindu with practitioners of the Vedic stream of religion now known as Hinduism only truly took root from around the 15th and 16th centuries (as evidenced in works by people like Kabir). In the time of the British Raj, the term Hindustan was popularly used to describe not only India in general but North Indian culture and the mix language of Urdu and Hindi (by which name the melded vernacular is still known today). Thus, while Hindustan is still used by some as a signifier of the nation of India, this usage is debated. In any case, there are geographical, political and regional preferences in the use of the various terminologies.