Dubai’s Al Minhad city to be called Hind City: What does it really mean

Many in India have been thinking that the decision by Dubai's ruler to rename the Al Hind city as Hind is a way of recognising the contribution of Indians

New Delhi, Jan 31: On Sunday, Dubai's ruler, vice president and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum instructed the renaming of Al Minhad area to Hind City.

The city with four zones will be called hind 1, Hind 2, Hind 3 and Hind 4. It is spread over approximately 83.9 square kilometres.

It was obvious for almost all in India to react to this news. Many said that the decision to rename the Dubai district Hind was due to the contributions by Indians. There is however no official reason given for the renaming of the Dubai district.

One user on Twitter posted that Al Minhad and its surrounding 84 sq KM areas will now be known as Hind City to honour the contribution of India and Hindus towards humanity.

In the absence of an official response it is very hard to tell why the Dubai ruler decided to rename the district as Hind.

Hind is usually associated with India. India is referred to Bharat, Hindustan and of the constant usage was Hind. Almost all speeches in India end with Jai Hind which is a slogan which means 'victory to Hindustan.' It also means long live India and was coined by Champakaraman Pillai and was later adopted as a slogan by the Indian National Army in 1940. Following India's independence from the British, it emerged as the country's national slogan. Many also use Jai Hind to greet each other.

Now coming to the renaming of the Dubai district to Hind. OneIndia searched many sites to find out what the meaning of Hind is in Arabic. One website on Muslim Names said that the meaning of Hind is possibly a group of camels. Usually 100 or more camels is also referred to as Hind in Arabic. Many name their daughters Hind and this meant praying that she should get 100 camels or more.

Another interesting fact is that Sheikh Mohammed's first wife was Hind bint Maktoum Al Maktoum. The couple who got married on April 26 1979 in a grand ceremony have 12 children including the crown prince, Sheikh Hamdan Mohammed Al Maktoum. It is quite possible that the district may have been named after her.