Does `India' stand for `Independent Nation Declared In August'?

A post claiming that India is an acronym for `Independent Nation Declared In August’ is viral on social media.

By Tejal Sinha  Published on  1 July 2021 4:44 AM GMT
Does `India stand for `Independent Nation Declared In August?

Hyderabad: A post claiming that India is an acronym for `Independent Nation Declared In August' is viral on social media.



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Fact Check

The claim is False.

With the help of keyword search, we found that the viral claim has been doing rounds since 2015. While doing the research, we were directed to Facebook which had a similar claim.

We then searched for reports published by the mainstream media but found none.

Meanwhile, we found reports by `Check4spam' and `smhoaxslayer' that had debunked the viral claim in 2017.

We then found a report by Javatpoint which stated India is not an acronym. So, it doesn't have any full form. India is a South Asian country. It is the seventh-largest country by area and second-largest country by population. It is the most populous democracy in the world. India is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast.

The name India is derived from the word Indus which itself derived from the old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit Sindhu. Indus is also the name of a river. Greeks used to refer to the country on the other side of the river Indus as Indoi. It was altered as India later.

Looking back at history, India got Independence in 1947 but the name existed before that. The Quit India Movement which was launched in 1942 (5 years before India got independence) had the word "India" in it.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Independence-Day-Indian-holiday

We also found a report by Jagranjosh, which stated that the name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindus and latter stem from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was for the Indus River. India is also called Hindustan which is a Persian word meaning "Land of the Hindus"; prior to 1947, it is referred to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan.

It is therefore evident that India is not the abbreviation for 'Independent Nation Declared In August'. The viral claim is False.

Claim Review:India is an abbreviation for “Independent Nation Declared In August”
Claimed By:Social Media Users
Claim Reviewed By:Newsmeter
Claim Source:Social Media
Claim Fact Check:False
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