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.    So, the name INDIA derived from INDUS river, Very good article on this topic can be found  @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_India

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