Hinduism—This term is derived from the name of a river in present-day Pakistan, the Sindhu, Sind or Indus. Beginning around 1000 AD, invading armies from the Middle East called the place beyond the Sindhu river Hindustan and the people who lived there the Hindus. (Due to the invaders' language, the s was changed to h.) In the centuries that followed, the term Hindu became acceptable even to the Indians themselves as a general designation for their different religious traditions. But since the word Hindu is not found in the Vedic scriptures upon which these traditions are based, it is quite inappropriate. The proper term is Vedic Dharma. See Dharma.