Perhaps every person has a passion for travel. With the development of relations between countries, tourism has become one of the income items for the budget of any state. Europe, Asia, East, America, China - currently travel agencies offer trips to any destination.
Those who want to go to incredible India for the first time spend hours collecting information on the Internet about traditions, customs, food, living conditions, etc. And sooner or later the question arises: "What is the right way to say - Hindu or Indian?"
To answer, it is enough to turn a little to history, study of the national composition, a brief acquaintance with the issue of religion of this unforgettable country and directly to the inhabitants of this state.
What is right: Indians or Hindus
India is a country with more than 1.3 billion people who are representatives of a huge number of nations: Hindustanis, Bengalis, Telugu, Marathas, Punjabis, etc. The people of India themselves call their country Hindustan or Bharat. The official languages are Hindi and English.
Therefore, it is logical to call any inhabitant an Indian. Surprisingly, for the inhabitants themselves or lovers of this country, the question "Indians or Hindus, which is correct?" does not arise. After talking a little with the local population, every tourist will find confirmation of this. Any other person born and living in India will be called Indian man.
In which case - Indian
If we consider the population of this state from the point of view of religion, then representatives of Hinduism, Islam, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, etc. live on the territory. Each representative of these religions can be called an Indian, because they are mostly born and live in India.
However, when asking a local resident about religion, you can hear the answer: "He is a Muslim, Sikh, Hindu."
This is the moment to turn to the thousand-year history of India. Initially, "Hind" was of Persian origin and denoted the valley of the Indus River. After the Muslim invasion of the lands of Hindustan, the word "Hindu" or "Hindu" appeared, which was used to denote "infidels." Perhaps, already in those days, a dispute began: "But what is the right thing: an Indian or a Hindu?" The meaning of this word was finally fixed by the British. This is what the inhabitants of Hindustan were called, making exceptions for Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Jains, thereby uniting all other representatives of religious and philosophicaldirections.
Thus, we can conclude that a Hindu is a follower of Hinduism, regardless of his place of residence (Hinduism subsequently became widespread on other continents).
Who are Hindus
However, even "Hindu" is not quite an accurate, colloquial and outdated name. The fact is that in 1816, the social reformer and philosopher Ram Mohan Roy first used the term "Hinduism" in his speeches. Subsequently, the Indians began to use the concept of "Hinduism" in the struggle for independence. And for equality with other religions. Therefore, the word "Hindu" appeared, which more accurately and correctly refers to the followers of the religion of Hinduism. This is his story.
Therefore, if you try to understand the question "what is the correct name - Indians or Hindus?", Speaking about the inhabitants of the country and not focusing on religion, you should use the word "Indian". If the conversation is about religions, it is recommended to clearly define belonging to a faith and call a Hindu, or rather a Hindu, only representatives of Hinduism, but in no case Muslims, Sikhs or representatives of other faiths. The locals are very friendly and peaceful, but they are very emotional and sometimes touchy. No bodily harm will be inflicted, but the residue from communication will remain.
We hope that those who read this article will no longer have the question of whether Indians or Hindus - how to call them correctly.
