The name that we gave ourselves was Bharatvarsha or Bharata Desha. Not the Persians, but Zoroastrians termed us as Hindus (people living around or east of River Indus, of the land of seven rivers - Hapta Hendu). Zoroaster's people had visited Punjab but returned because of heat and fever as mentioned in the Gathas, that is why Hapta-Hendu is mentioned as the fifteenth homeland of Aryans. Hindukush is a mountain beyond which are the Hindus, 'towards the Hindus'. Even in 1,000 AD, Kabul was ruled by a Hindu king. Sorry for posting in an old thread. Deleting being not one of the options available.
