Mleccha

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Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit म्लेच्छ Template:IAST, meaning "non-Aryan, barbarian") was a derogatory term for foreigners or people who did not speak Sanskrit and did not conform with conventional Vedic beliefs and practices.

By its structure, the term is not natively Indo-Iranian, so that it would seem to be a loan of the self-designation of a non-Aryan people so described, possibly Proto-Dravidian. It has been speculated that the term is related to Meluhha, the name of a trading partner of Bronze Age Sumer, tentatively identified with the Indus Valley civilization.

External Links: Bronze age trade and meluhha writing system

See also: Dasa Template:Culture-stub