Appeal to Change the Name ‘Hindu Kush’

 

   “What is in a name? A rose by any other name will smell as sweet”, is a frequently quoted line from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. But if a geographical name is derogatory towards people of a country or followers of a religion or members of a race, it is unacceptable and highly regrettable. We are no longer uncivilized brutes of dark ages where the only law that prevailed was the law of the jungle, namely ‘Might is right’. 21st century is an age of enlightenment where all human beings have, or are expected to have, equal rights, irrespective of their gender, race, religion, language, ethnicity and nationality, as enshrined in the United Nations charter. As civilized people we are expected to refrain from speaking anything or doing anything that can hurt sensitivities of others, especially if it pertains to their faith, race, ethnicity or nationality. Likewise if a geographical entity like a river, sea, mountain or town, is given a name that is offensive to a particular community, it is condemnable. One such example is ‘Hindu Kush’. This name has been given to the mountain ranges located between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Hindu Kush means ‘Hindu killer’ in Persian. Earlier names of this mountain range were: Pariyatra Parvata (Sanskrit), Paropamisadae (Greek) and Caucasus Indicus (Hellenic Greek). Thirteenth century onwards the Indian subcontinent was repeatedly invaded by raiders from the northwest, who came for loot, arson and plunder. To reach the subcontinent, they had to cross passes in this mountain. Leaving behind a trail of death and destruction, they went back to their lands with loads of ill-gotten booties which included slaves and women as well. Many of them kept coming again and again for more plunder. The mountain ranges came to be known as ‘Hindu Kush’ (Hindu killer), because it meant that any invader who crossed this mountain would have to fight (and kill) Hindus before indulging in arson. ‘Hindu’ at that point of time referred to ‘Inhabitant of Hindustan’. And the helpless  slaves whom the invaders brought back with them to carry their booties, would perish in large numbers while crossing this harsh mountain. Alternative explanations put forth by a few relate this word to be a corrupted derivative of 'Kaash', 'Kushan', 'Kuh" etc. Even if, let's say, that is true, the word 'Kush' will continue to mean 'Killer', because that is its most commonly accepted meaning in colloquial language. All are familiar with the Persian/Urdu word 'Khud-kushi', which means suicide (killing self). By extrapolation, 'Kush' means 'Killer'.

 The word ‘Hindu Kush’ is very demeaning and derogatory for us the Hindus, or people of Hindustan (India). It hurts our sentiments immensely. It needs to be delegitimized and dropped forthwith. Imagine how infuriating it will be for a community ‘XYZ’ if some crazy bigots name a sea or a lake as ‘XYZ-Kush Samandar’ or ‘XYZ-Kush Jheel’ respectively.   

I, as a citizen of Hindustan (India) as well as a free world citizen, appeal to Their Excellencies, President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and CEO Dr Abdullah Abdullah of Afghanistan to kindly initiate necessary action to correct this unfortunate aberration, so that the abhorrent term ‘Hindu Kush’ is replaced with some other decent name of their choice in Pashto, Dari or any other language.

Dr Shibban Kaul

Navi Mumbai, India

E-mail: kaul.shibban@gmail.com