Puzzle of Small and Big India

[Klaus Karttunen]

Samar Abbas wrote:
>  There are likewise two Indias in German maps of the early 20th century: one,
> Vorderindien or Nearer India comprising the modern subcontinent, and the other
> Hinterindien or Further India comprising South-East Asia. As far as I am
> aware, most European languages (except English) preserve this nomenclature.
> `Indonesia' is variously referred to as East Indies, Ost Indies, etc


I did not mention "Hinterindien" as it is not English. But I think it is
now antiquated in most European languages and an equivalent of
South-East Asia is used instead. I have myself learned the Finnish
equivalent ("Taka-Intia") in school about 40 years ago, but even then it
was said to be antiquated. East Indies etc. are also antiquated and
Indonesia (note the old German translation Inselindien) commonly used in
different languages. But as I wrote, all these terms using India are
originally founded on the Geography of Ptolemy.

> The English preferred to restrict `India' to their territory, hence the perceived 
> `reduction' in size.

The English East Indies contained South-East Asia and Indonesia, too,
and even West Indies for Caribian islands was still commonly used about
100 years ago. Indonesia was known as the Dutch India or Dutch East
Indies, in the 19th century also as the Indian Archipelago. Samar
himself mentioned the term "Further (also Farther) India, beside this
also Indochina was used.

Regards
Klaus

-- 
Klaus Karttunen, Ph.D.
Docent of Indology and Classical Ethnography
Institute of Asian and African Studies
PL 59 (Unioninkatu 38 B), 00014 University of Helsinki, FINLAND
phone 358-0-19122188, fax 358-0-19122094