Old English, from Latin India, from Greek India "region of the Indus River," later used of the region beyond it, from Indos "Indus River," from Old Persian Hindu, the name for the province of Sind, from Sanskrit sindhu "river." The more common Middle English form was Ynde or Inde, From French (see Indies). India began to prevail 16c., perhaps under Spanish or Portuguese influence.
Republic in southern Asia. Its capital is New Delhi, and its largest city is Calcutta.
Note: India is the second most populous country in the world, after China.
Note: British control of India began in 1757 and did not end until the dissolution of the British regime, or Raj, in 1947, when India was divided into India and Pakistan.
Note: Mahatma Gandhi led the movement for Indian independence through passive resistance to British rule. He was killed by a fanatic in 1948.
Note: The country is marked by conflict between the Hindu and Muslim populations and violence between castes.
Note: Despite world disapproval, in 1998 India successfully conducted nuclear bomb tests. Pakistan did the same two weeks later. (See Kashmir.)
occurs only in Esther 1:1 and 8:9, where the extent of the dominion of the Persian king is described. The country so designated here is not the peninsula of Hindustan, but the country surrounding the Indus, the Punjab. The people and the products of India were well known to the Jews, who seem to have carried on an active trade with that country (Ezek. 27:15, 24).