India: Opposition politician says 'Hindu' term dirty

Indian politician Satish Jarkiholi from the southern state of Karnataka said the term "Hindu" comes from the Persian language, and is "dirty and insulting." He hails from the opposition party, the Indian National Congress.

"Where did the term Hindu come from? Is it our own? No. It is of Persian origin. Where is that? It refers to countries like Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. What is the relation between India and such countries? How can it be an Indian term? There needs to be a debate on this," the former minister and working president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee said.

"Please refer to sites like Wikipedia. If it is not an Indian term, why are some people taking it so seriously? If you understand its original meaning, you will be ashamed of yourself. The original meaning of the term is very dirty and insulting," he said.

According to Wikipedia, the term "Hindu" can be traced back to Old Persian which derived these names from the Sanskrit name Sindhu, referring to the river Indus. 

What was the response to Jarkiholi's statements?

The politician's comments were widely criticized by the ruling, right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), among others. His own Congress Party also distanced itself from the statements.

Jarkiholi was speaking in the city of Belagavi, southwest India, at an event to celebrate the ideas of Gautam Buddha, philosopher Basavanna, and political leader Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who spoke against Hindu ideologies and practices.

"The statement attributed to Mr. Jarkiholi is deeply unfortunate and deserves to be rejected. We condemn it unequivocally," said Congress leader, AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said.

Jarkiholi too issued a clarification later, saying he did not mean to insult the religion, and said he was merely pointing out the origins of the term as per other sources.