The word ‘Hindu’ as reference to the people of Hind (India) was first used by
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UPSC Civil Services preparation
- Athe Greeks
- Bthe Romans
- Cthe Chinese
- Dthe ArabsCorrect
Explanation
The correct option is D because the word Hindu originated from the Old Persian word Hindu, which was the Iranian equivalent of the Sanskrit word Sindhu, referring to the Indus River. The Arabs adopted this term to describe the land beyond the Indus as Al Hind and its inhabitants as Hindus. While the Greeks used the term Indoi and the Chinese used terms like Xuanzang or Tianzhu, it was the Arabs who consistently used the term Hindu as a reference to the people of the region.
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