Etymology of Pakistan: Difference between revisions

[[Image:PAK AU T1.svg|thumb|This map is based on the Pakistan location map.]]

The name '''Pakistan''' (<small>English pronunciation:</small> {{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Pakistan.ogg|ˈ|p|æ|k|ᵻ|s|t|æ|n}} or {{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Pakistan-2.ogg|p|ɑː|k|i|ˈ|s|t|ɑː|n}}; {{lang-ur|پاکستان}} &nbsp;{{IPA|[paːkɪˈst̪aːn]}}) means ''[[-stan|Land of]] (the) Spiritually Pure'' in both [[Urdu]] and [[Persian language|Persian]] languages. Many [[South-central Asia]]n states and regions end with the element -''stan,'' such as ''Afghanistan,'' ''Pakistan,'' ''Balochistan,'' ''Kurdistan,'' and ''Turkistan.'' This -''stan'' is formed from the Iranian root *STA "to stand, stay," and means "place (where one stays), home, country". Iranian peoples have been the main inhabitants of the various land regions of the Ancient [[Persian Empire]]s now owned by the states for over a thousand years. The names are compounds of -''[[-stan|stan]]'' and the name of the peoples living there. Pakistan is a bit different; its name was coined on 28 January 1933 as ''{{sic|Pak|stan|hide=y}}'' by [[Choudhary Rahmat Ali]], a [[Pakistan Movement]] activist, who published it in his paper ''[[Pakistan Declaration|Now or Never]]''.<ref name="nowornever">{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/txt_rahmatali_1933.html|title=Now or never: Are we to live or perish for ever?|author=Choudhary Rahmat Ali|publisher=Columbia University|date=28 January 1933|accessdate=4 December 2007}}</ref> by using the suffix -''istan'' from ''Baloch''istan preceded by the first letters of ''P''unjab, ''A''fghania, ''K''ashmir and ''S''indh. The name is actually an [[acronym]] that stands for the "thirty million Muslim brethren who lived in Pakistan—by which we mean the [[Islamic Republic of India|Five Northern units of India]] viz: [[Punjab (Pakistan)|'''P'''unjab]], [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|('''A'''fghan Province)]], [[Kashmir|'''K'''ashmir]], [[Sindh|'''S'''ind]], and [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Baluchis'''tan''']]".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.chaudhryrahmatali.com/now%20or%20never/index.htm | title=Rahmat Ali ::Now or Never | publisher=The Pakistan National Movement | accessdate=14 April 2011 | author=Ali, Rahmat | pages=[Unknown] | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419012150/http://www.chaudhryrahmatali.com/now%20or%20never/index.htm | archivedate=19 April 2011 }}</ref> The letter ''i'' was incorporated to ease pronunciation and forms the linguistically correct and meaningful name.<ref name="davison">{{cite journal |author=Roderic H. Davidson|title=Where is the Middle East?|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_foreign-affairs_1960-07_38_4/page/665|journal=Foreign Affairs|volume=38|pages=665–675|year=1960|doi=10.2307/20029452|issue=4|jstor=20029452}}</ref>

[[Category:Pakistan]]