From when did the name India came into effect?

Answer 1

Copied directly from wikipedia: "The name India /'ɪndiə/ is derived from Indus, which is derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River. The Constitution of India and common usage recognise Bharat (/bʰɑːrət̪/ ?·i), as an official name, India is also recognized with equal status. A third name, Hindustan (/hin̪d̪ust̪ɑːn/ ?·i) (Persian: Land of the Hindus < Old Persian Hindu, India / land of the Indus < Sanskrit Sindhu, any river/the Indus) has been used since the 12th century, though its contemporary use is unevenly applied."

For a full article about the etymology of the name "India", see here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_India's_name

Answer 2

The official Sanskrit name for India is Bharat.

INDIA has been called Bharat even in Satya yuga ( Golden Age )

The name `India’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.

The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name `Hindustan’ combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.

Answer 3

India was the name given by the British.
I do not know why they accepted that, but that's history.

It is really - Hindustan. It is a sanskrit word, meaning "a place of Hindus".

The British's tongue cannot turn as well. So, they chose the easy route to say Hindustan and called it India and it stuck.

In early times, the civilization existed along the river Indus. This civilization is the oldest known to man - long before anyother existed. The people coming from that region were called Hindus and the word Hinduism - is not a religion at all - the "ism" means the way of life. (Just like Judaism - a way of life of the Jews).

The religion spread throughout and the place was called Hindustan. India, as we know today did not exist back then. It encompassed Afghanistan to west and all the way to Singapore and Malaysia to southeast - the entire landmass was once called Hindustan. It includes Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanman etc..... All of them were once called Hindustan but they separated in to entities of their own.

Evidence of the Hindu religion and the Hindus living in these areas and practising their way of living exists even today in all these countries.

FYI - Buddha, the practised religions in these regions, was a Hindu.

Answer 4

Indraprastha