Hinduism

[Ven. Tantra]

Subject: Hinduism

Re.
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0010&L=indology&D=1&O=D&P=50173


Lynken Ghose wrote:

<<I am still puzzled about the origins of the term
"Hindu". In G. Flood's book, he mentions that the term
is first used as a Persian geographical term. Does
anyone know the name of the Persian text which is
referred to, and the exact date? Also, Flood mentions
that the word "al-hind" in Arabic refers to the people
of India. Does anyone know the first Arabic text which
uses this term, and the exact date(s)? Are there any
good articles on the origins of this term?>>

The Oxford English Dictionary traces "Hindooism" to an
1829 reference in the Bengalee (45). It also refers to
an 1853 usage by the German Indologist Max M�ller.
Have a look at Richard King. "Orientalism and the
Modern Myth of 'Hinduism'." In Numen 46, 2. Leiden,
1999. He writes: "The Arabic 'Al-Hind' is therefore a
term denoting a particular geographical area. Although
indigenous use of the term by Hindus themselves can be
found as early as the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries, its usage was a derivative of Persian
Muslim influences and did not represent anything more
than a distinction between 'indigenous' or 'native'
and foreign (mleccha)." Sorry, I don't have access to
the publication or any decent library at present. See
also David N. Lorenzen, "Who Invented Hinduism?"
(1999), 630-659.

Could you please inform me if you get the names and/or
dates of those Persian texts, or of any other
pertinent data? I also would appreciate it very much
if you could post the full relevant quote(s) and
complete bibliographic data of <<G. Flood's book>>
mentioned above.

Thanking you in advance.

Ven. Tantra
troyoga at yahoo.com


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