The name India may refer to either the region of Greater India (the Indian subcontinent), or to the contemporary Republic of India contained therein. The term is derived from the name of the Sindhu (Indus River) and has been in use in Greek since Herodotus(4th century BC). The term appears in Old English in the 9th century, and again in Modern English since the 17th century.
The Republic of India has three principal short names, in both official and popular English usage, each of which is historically significant. All three originally designated a single entity comprising all the modern nations of the Indian subcontinent. These names are India, Bharat and Hindustan The first Article of the Constitution of India states that "India, that is Bharat, shall be a union of states." Thus, India and Bharat are equally official short names for the Republic of India, while "Hindustan" is still widely used as an alternative name when Indians speak amongst themselves. "Hindustan" is also used in historical contexts (especially British India). Indians commonly refer to their country as Bharat, Hindustan or India depending on the context and language of conversation.India is also known as Āryāvarta (Sanskrit: आर्यावर्त, "abode of the Aryans") because of its heritage.
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[edit] India
The English term is from Greek Indía (Ἰνδία), via Latin India. Iindía in Byzantine N(Koine Greek) ethnography denotes the region beyond the Indus (Ἰνδός) river, since Herodotus (5th century BC) ἡ Ἰνδική χώρη "Indian land", Ἰνδός "an Indian", from Avestan Hinduš (referring to Sindh, and listed as a conquered territory by Darius I in the Persepolis terrace inscription). The name is derived ultimately from Sindhu, the Sanskrit name of the river, but also meaning "river" generically. Latin India is used by Lucian (2nd century).
The name India was known in Old English, and was used in King Alfred's translation of Orosius. In Middle English, the name was, under French influence, replaced by Ynde or Inde, which entered Early Modern English Indie. The name India then came back to English usage from the 17th century onwards, and may be due to the influence of Latin, or Spanish or Portuguese. [1]

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (April 2009)
Sanskrit indu "drop (of Soma)", also a term for the Moon, is unrelated, but has sometimes been erroneously connected, listed by, among others, Colonel James Todd in his Annals of Rajputana. Todd describes ancient India as under control of tribes claiming descent from the Moon, or "Indu", (referring to Chandravanshi Rajputs), and their influence in Trans-Indian regions where they referred to the land as Industhan.
The name[2] [3] is used for the Republic of India. Bhāratam is the official Sanskrit name of the country, Bhārata Gaṇarājya, and the name is derived from the ancient Indian texts, the Puranas, which refers to the land that comprises India as Bharata varṣam, and uses this term to distinguish it from other varṣas or continents[4]. For example, the Vayu Purana says he who conquers the whole of Bharata-varsa is celebrated as a samrāt (Vayu Purana 45, 86).[4]. However in some puranas, the term 'Bharate' refers to the whole Earth as Emperor Bharat had ruled the whole Earth. Until the death of Maharaja Parikshit, the last formidable emperor of the Kuru dynasty (there were other emperors too after him but they were not as powerful as him), the whole Earth was called as Bharatvarsha.
The Sanskrit word bhāratam is a vrddhi derivation of bharata, which was originally an epithet of Agni. The term is a verbal noun of the Sanskrit root bhr-, "to bear / to carry", with a literal meaning of "to be maintained" (of fire). The root bhr is cognate with the English verb to bear and Latin ferō. This term also means "one who is engaged in search for knowledge".
The Bhāratas were Indians mentioned in the Rigveda, notably participating in the Battle of the Ten Kings.
The realm of Bharata is known as Bharātavarṣa in the Mahabhārata (the core portion of which is itself known as Bhārata) and later texts. The term varsa means a division of the earth, or a continent. [1] A version of the Bagavatha Purana says, the Name Bharatha is after Jata Bharatha who appears in the fifth canto of the Bagavatha.
From: Vishnu Purana (2.3.1)[2][3]
uttaraṃ yatsamudrasya himādreścaiva dakṣiṇamvarṣaṃ tadbhārataṃ nāma bhāratī yatra santatiḥ
उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् ।
वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः ।।
"The country (varṣam) that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bhāratam; there dwell the descendants of Bharata."
The term in Classical Sanskrit literature is taken to comprise the territory of Republic of India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, as well as portions of eastern Afghanistan. This corresponds to the approximate extent of the historical Maurya Empire under emperors Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka the Great (4th to 3rd centuries BC). Later political entities unifying approximately the same region are the Mughal Empire (17th century), the Maratha Empire (18th century) , and the British Raj (19th to 20th centuries).
Akhanda Bharata ("undivided Bharat") is a term of Hindu nationalism calling for a re-unification of the region.
From the perspective of the Malayans, Indian traders were the most common ones coming from "the West", therefore the word was absorbed into the Malay language. In the Malay language, "Barat" literally means "West".
For Middle Eastern traders, particularly Arabs and Turks, spices were the most common materials coming from the East. Hence, the term "bharat" was borrowed first into Arabic as بهرات baharāt, meaning "spices;" this migrated into the Turkish "baharat" with the same meaning.

[edit] Hindustan and Hind
Main article: Hindustan
The name Hind is derived from the Iranian equivalent of Indo-Aryan Sindh. The Avestan -stān means country or land (cognate to Sanskrit sthāna "place, land").
India was called Hindustan in Persian although the term Hind is in current use. al-Hind الهند is the term in the Arabic e.g. in the 11th century Tarikh Al-Hind "history of India"). It also occurs intermittently in usage within India, such as in the phrase Jai Hind.
The terms Hind and Hindustān were current in Persian and Arabic from the 11th century Islamic conquests: the rulers in the Sultanate and Mughal periods called their Indian dominion, centred around Delhi Hindustan. -stan is a Persian suffix meaning "home of/place of".
Hindustān, as is the term Hindu itself, entered the English language in the 17th century. In the 19th century, the term as used in English referred to the northern region of India between the Indus and Brahmaputra rivers and between the Himalayas and the Vindhyas in particular, hence the term Hindustani for the Hindi-Urdu language. Hindustan was in use synonymously with India during the British Raj.
Hind (Hindi: हिन) remains in use in Hindi-Urdu. In contemporary Persian language, the term Hindustan has come to mean the Indian subcontinent, and the modern Indian Union is called Hind. The same is the case with Arabic language, where al-Hind is the name of the Republic of India.

[edit\] Āryāvarta
Āryāvarta (Sanskrit: आर्यावर्त, "abode of the Aryans") is the ancient name for northern and central India, where the culture of the Indo-Aryans was based.The Manu Smriti (2.22) gives the name to "the tract between the Himalaya and the Vindhya ranges, from the eastern to the western sea".

[edit] Tenjiku
Tenjiku is the Japanese word commonly used in reference to pre-modern India. Tian, the root word for the Japanese kanji means, 'heaven,'[5] while, jiku, means: 'the center of'[6], or 'primary concentration of'. Therefore the word is known to mean: 'the heavenly center of the world" or "the spiritual axis (center)", a reference to the Indian origins of Buddhism.

[edit] Jambudvipa
There is a story in Jain mythology and in Hindu and Buddhist texts as well that describe Jambudvipa being one of the seven islands/continents of the world. It is possible that perhaps "island" is used to refer to India because India in one time was a separate Indian Plate. Perhaps the phrase is used in the manner that the land of India is still an island in between the Indus River and the rest of the Asian Plate. Jambudvipa is also addressed in Buddhist mythology and in some he is addresses as the ruler over entire Jambudvipa and in one, "He reigned over a quarter of the land of Jambudvipa..."[

Shahrukh Khan (Hindi: शाहरुख़ ख़ान, Urdu: شاہ رخ خان) born November 2, 1965, sometimes credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian actor, who has been a prominent Bollywood figure, as well as a film producer and television host.
Khan began his career appearing in several television serials in the late 1980s. He made his film debut in Deewana (1992). Since then, he has been part of numerous commercially successful films and has earned critical acclaim for many of his performances. During his years in the Indian film industry, Khan has won thirteen Filmfare Awards, seven of which are in the Best Actor category.
Khan's films such as Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Chak De India (2007), Om Shanti Om (2007) and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) remain some of Bollywood's biggest hits, while films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) have been top-grossing Indian productions in the overseas markets, making him one of the most successful actors of India. Since 2000, Khan branched out into film production and television presenting as well. He is the founder/owner of two production companies, Dreamz Unlimited and Red Chillies Entertainment. In 2008, Newsweek named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the world.[1]
Contents[hide]
1 Biography
2 Film career
2.1 Background
2.2 1990s
2.3 2000s
3 Producer
4 Television host
5 Awards and nominations
6 Filmography
6.1 Actor
6.2 Producer
6.3 Playback singer
6.4 Stunts Director
6.5 Television appearances
7 See also
8 Bibliography
9 Notes
10 External links
//

Biography

Shahrukh Khan and family
Khan was born in 1965 to Muslim parents of Pathan descent in New Delhi, India .[2] His father, Taj Mohammed Khan, was an Indian freedom fighter from Peshawar, British India. According to Khan, his paternal grandfather was originally from Afghanistan.[3] His mother, Lateef Fatima, was the adopted daughter of Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of the Janjua Rajput clan, who served as a General in the Indian National Army of Subash Chandra Bose Khan's father came to New Delhi from Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar before the partition of India,[5] while his mother's family came from Rawalpindi, British India.[6] Khan has an elder sister named Shehnaz.[7]
Khan attended St. Columba's School where he was accomplished in sports, drama, and academics. He won the Sword of Honour, an annual award given to the student who best represents the spirit of the school. Khan later attended the Hansraj College (1985-1988) and earned his Economics (honors). Though he pursued a Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia Islamia, he later opted out to make his career in Bollywood.[8]
After the death of his parents, Khan moved to Mumbai in 1991.[9] In that same year, before any of his films were released, he married Gauri Chibber (who is a Hindu) in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on 25 October 1991.[10] They have two children, son Aryan (b. 1997) and daughter Suhana (b. 2000). According to Khan, while he strongly believes in Allah, he also values his wife's religion. At home, his children follow both religions, with the Qur'an being situated next to the Hindu gods.[11][12]
In 2005, Nasreen Munni Kabir produced a two-part documentary on Khan, titled The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan. Featuring his 2004 Temptations concert tour, the film contrasted Khan's inner world of family and daily life with the outer world of his work. The book Still Reading Khan, which details his family life, was released in 2006. Another book by Anupama Chopra, "King of Bollywood: Shahrukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian cinema", was released in 2007. This book described the world of Bollywood through Khan's life.
Khan has been awarded a number of honours. He was honoured with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India in 2005. In April 2007, a life-size wax statue of Khan was installed at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, London. Another statue was installed at the Musée Grévin in Paris, the same year.[13] During the same year, he was accorded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of the Arts and Literature) award by the French government for his “exceptional career”.[14]
In October 2008, Khan was conferred the Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka which carries the honorific Datuk (in similar fashion to "Sir" in British knighthood), by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob, the head of state of Malacca in Malaysia. Khan was honoured for "promoting tourism in Malacca" by filming One Two Ka Four there in 2001. Some were critical of this decision.[15] He was also honoured with an honorary doctorate in arts and culture from Britain's University of Bedfordshire in 2009.[16]

Film career

Background
Khan studied acting under celebrated Theatre Director Barry John at Delhi's Theatre Action Group (TAG). In 2007, John commented thus on his former pupil that, "The credit for the phenomenally successful development and management of Shahrukh's career goes to the superstar himself."[17] Khan made his acting debut in 1988 when he appeared in the television series, Fauji, playing the role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai.[18] He went on to appear in several other television serials, most notably in the 1989 serial, Aziz Mirza's Circus, which depicted the life of circus performers.[19] The same year, Khan also had a minor role in the made-for-television English-language film, In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones, which was based on life at Delhi University and was written by Arundhati Roy.

1990s
Upon moving from New Delhi to Mumbai in 1991,[20] Khan made his Bollywood movie debut in Deewana (1992). The movie became a box office hit, and launched his career in Bollywood.[21] His performance won him a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. His second movie, Maya Memsaab, generated some controversy because of his appearance in an "explicit" sex scene in the movie.[22]
In 1993, Khan won acclaim for his performances in villainous roles as an obsessive lover and a murderer, respectively, in the box office hits, Darr and Baazigar.[23] Darr marked his first collaboration with renowned film-maker Yash Chopra and his banner Yash Raj Films, the largest production company in Bollywood. Baazigar, which saw Khan portraying an ambiguous avenger who murders his girlfriend, shocked its Indian audience with an unexpected violation of the standard Bollywood formula.[24] His performance won him his first Filmfare Best Actor Award. In that same year, Khan played the role of a young musician in Kundan Shah's Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, a performance that earned him a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. Khan maintains that this is his all-time favourite among the movies he has acted in.[25] In 1994, Khan once again played an obsessive lover/psycho's role in Anjaam, co-starring alongside Madhuri Dixit. Though the movie was not a box office success, Khan's performance earned him the Filmfare Best Villain Award.[26]
In 1995, Khan starred in Aditya Chopra's directorial debut Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, a major critical and commercial success, for which he won his second Filmfare Best Actor Award.[27] In 2007, the film entered its twelfth year in Mumbai theaters. By then the movie had grossed over 12 billion rupees, making it as one of India's biggest movie blockbusters.[28] Earlier in the same year he found success in Rakesh Roshan's Karan Arjun which became the second biggest hit of the year.
1996 was a disappointing year for Khan as all his movies released that year failed to do well at the box office.[29] This was, however, followed by a comeback in 1997. He saw success with Subhash Ghai's social drama Pardes -- one of the biggest hits of the year-- and Aziz Mirza's comedy Yes Boss, a moderately successful feature.[30] His second project with Yash Chopra as a director, Dil to Pagal Hai became that year's second highest-grossing movie, and he won his third Filmfare Best Actor Award for his role as a stage director who falls in love with one of his new actresses.[30]
In 1998, Khan starred in Karan Johar's directoial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which was the biggest hit of the year.[31] His performance won him his fourth Best Actor award at the Filmfare. He won critical praise for his performance in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se. The movie did not do well at the Indian box office, though it was a commercial success overseas.[32] Khan's only release in 1999, Baadshah, was an average grosser.[33]

2000s
Khan's success continued with Aditya Chopra's 2000 film, Mohabbatein, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan. It did well at the box office, and Khan's performance as a college teacher won him his second Critics Award for Best Performance. He also starred in Mansoor Khan's action film Josh. The film starred Khan as the leader of a Christian gang in Goa and Aishwarya Rai as his twin sister, and was also a box office success.[34] In that same year, Khan set up his own production house, Dreamz Unlimited with Juhi Chawla (see below). Both Khan and Chawla starred in the first movie of their production house, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.[34] His work with Karan Johar continued as he collaborated on the family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham which was the second biggest hit of the year. He also received favorable reviews for his performance as Emperor Asoka in the historical epic, Asoka, a partly fictionalised account of the life of Ashoka the Great (304 BC–232 BC).[35]
In 2002, Khan received acclaim for playing the title role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's award-winning period romance, Devdas. It was the third Hindi movie adaptation of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's well-known novel of the same name, and surfaced as one of the biggest hits of that year.[36] Khan also starred opposite Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the family-drama Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, which did well at the box office.[36] In 2003, Khan starred in the moderately successful romantic drama, Chalte Chalte.[37] That same year, he starred in the tearjerker, Kal Ho Naa Ho, written by Karan Johar and directed by Nikhil Advani. Khan's performance in this movie as a man with a fatal heart disease was appreciated. The movie proved to be one of the year's biggest hits in India and Bollywood's biggest hit in the overseas markets.[37]
2004 was a particularly good year for Khan, both commercially and critically. He starred in Farah Khan's directorial debut, the comedy Main Hoon Na. The movie did well at the box office. He then played the role of an Indian officer, Veer Pratap Singh in Yash Chopra's love saga Veer-Zaara, which was the biggest hit of 2004 in both India and overseas.[38] The film relates the love story of Veer and Pakistani woman Zaara Haayat Khan, played by Preity Zinta. Khan's performance in the film won him awards at several award ceremonies. In that same year, he received critical acclaim for his performance in Ashutosh Gowariker's drama Swades. He was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for all three of his releases in 2004, winning it for Swades.[38]
In 2006, Khan collaborated with Karan Johar for the fourth time with the melodrama movie Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. It did well in India and much more so in the overseas market, becoming the biggest Bollywood hit in the overseas market of all-time.[39] His second release that year saw him playing the title role in the action film Don, a remake of the 1978 hit Don. The movie was a success.[39]
Khan's success continued with a few more highly popular films. One of his most successful works was the multiple award-winning 2007 film, Chak De India, about the Indian women's national hockey team. Earning over Rs 639 million, Chak De India became the third highest grossing movie of 2007 in India and won yet another Filmfare Best Actor Award for Khan.[40] The film was a major critical success.[41] In the same year Khan also starred in Farah Khan 's 2007 film, Om Shanti Om. The film emerged as the year's highest grossing film in India and the overseas market, and became India's highest grossing production ever up to that point.[40] It earned him another nomination for Best Actor at the Filmfare ceremony. Khan's more recent films include the 2008 release, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi which was a huge box office success, and Billu.
As of 2009, Khan is filming My Name Is Khan, due for a November 2009 release.[42] While on one shoot in Los Angeles, along with his wife Gauri and director Karan Johar, he took a break from filming to attend the 66th Golden Globe Awards, held in Los Angeles, California, on 1 January 2009.[43][44] Khan introduced Slumdog Millionaire along with a star from the film, Freida Pinto.[45][46]

Producer
Khan turned producer when he set up a production company called Dreamz Unlimited with Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza in 1999. The first two of the films he produced and starred in: Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000) and Asoka (2001) were box office failures.[35] However, his third film as a producer and star, Chalte Chalte (2003), proved a box office hit.[37]
In 2004, Khan set up another production company, Red Chillies Entertainment, and produced and starred in Main Hoon Na, another hit.[38] The following year, he produced and starred in the fantasy film Paheli, which did poorly.[47] It was, however, India's official entry to the Academy Awards for consideration for Best Foreign Language Film, but it did not pass the final selection. Also in 2005, Khan co-produced the supernatural horror film Kaal with Karan Johar, and performed an item number for the film with Malaika Arora Khan. Kaal was moderately successful at the box office.[47] His company has gone on to produce Om Shanti Om (2007), in which he starred, and Billu (2009), in which he played a supporting role as a Bollywood superstar.
Apart from film production, the company also has a visual effects studio known as Red Chillies VFX. It has also ventured into television content production, with shows like, 'The First Ladies', 'Ghar Ki Baat Hai', and 'Knights and Angels'. Television advertisements are also produced by the company.[48]
In 2008, Red Chillies Entertainment became the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the BCCI-backed IPL cricket competition.

Television host
In 2007, Khan replaced Amitabh Bachchan as the host of the third series of the popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionair?.[49] The previous had hosted the show for five years from 2000-05. On 22 January 2007, Kaun Banega Crorepati aired with Khan as the new host and later ended on 19 April 2007.[50]
On 25 April 2008, Khan began hosting the game show Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?, the Indian version of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, whose last episode was telecasted on 27 July 2008, with Lalu Prasad Yadav as the special guest.

Awards and nominations