Question

.. What did Hindustan stand for in medieval times?​

Answer 1

ʜɪɴᴅᴜsᴛᴀɴ ɪs ᴀ ᴘᴇʀsɪᴀɴ ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴇᴀɴs “ʟᴀɴᴅ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴᴅᴜs” ᴏʀ “ʟᴀɴᴅ ʙᴇʏᴏɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴᴅᴜs”. ... sᴏ, ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍɪᴅᴅʟᴇ ᴀɢᴇs, ʜɪɴᴅᴜsᴛᴀɴ ᴡᴀs ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀsɪᴀɴ ɴᴀᴍᴇ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴜᴛʜ ᴀsɪᴀ, ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇɢɪᴏɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɴᴏᴡ ɪɴᴄʟᴜᴅᴇs ᴘᴀᴋɪsᴛᴀɴ, ɪɴᴅɪᴀ, ɴᴇᴘᴀʟ, ʙʜᴜᴛᴀɴ, ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴀɴɢʟᴀᴅᴇsʜ.

Answer 2

Answer:

Hindustan is a Persian word that means “land of the Indus” or “land beyond the Indus”. (In Old Persian, Hindu was the name for the Indus River, derived from the Sanskrit form Sindhu.) So, in the Middle Ages, Hindustan was the Persian name for South Asia, the region that now includes Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Sri Lanka and the Maldives weren’t well known to Persian speakers, and it isn’t clear whether they would have been included in the vague idea of Hindustan.

Of course, the Mughals were Persian speakers, so this would have been their term for much of the region they ruled as emperors.

:'-)