Etymology of India

India, as a country and nation, has three principal names, in both official and popular usage, each of which is historically and culturally important. All three originally designated a single entity comprise all the modern nations of the Indian subcontinent. The first Article of the Constitution of India, which deals with the official name, states that "India, that is Bharat, shall be a union of states." Thus, not only in usage but officially India and Bharat are both accorded primary status? The name India is derived from the river Indus.

The innovative name of the river came from the fact that in the north-west of the subcontinent, there are seven main tributaries of the one river. The local inhabitants therefore called it Sapta-Sindhu, meaning the seven rivers. As the seven tributaries are part of the one river, the whole river system came to be known in time as Sindhu. In general, Sindhu also means any river or water body in Sanskrit.