Hindustan is a name given to the pre-Islamic political culture of India.

India prior to the Muslim invasions was one of the world’s great civilizations. Tenth century Hindustan was a leader in the realms of philosophy, mathematics and natural science. Indian mathematicians discovered the number zero and derived arabic numerals. Algebra was another mathematical innovation transmitted to the West via the Muslim world.

Medieval India was a richly imaginative culture with vigorous and sensual sculptures and ornate architecture.

India was gradually overrun by Muslim invaders largely ending a Hindu political culture in India, and with the Islamic stress on Iconoclasm a large amount of Indian art was lost.