Hindustan

Hindustan (hin"doostăn') [key][Persian,=Hindu land], historical term, usually applied to the Ganges Plain of N India, between the Himalayas in the north and the Deccan plateau in the south. Used variably throughout Indian history—generally in contradistinction to the Deccan of peninsular India—it gradually came to mean the whole of N India from the Punjab to Assam. The term Hindustan has also been applied to the whole Indian subcontinent.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

• • Cite
  • Print