Hindi has a few words for sugar. शक्कर (shakkar) is one, which comes from Sanskrit शर्करा (sharkra), meaning gravel. Then there is चीनी (chini) which, curiously, can also mean Chinese. The reason for this dual meaning has been a subject of debate. It seems as though Indians were initially accustomed to brown sugar (such as the jaggery variant). China began exporting white sugar, which most likely became known as चीनी शक्कर (chini shakkar). However, in this context the meaning wasn't understood as 'Chinese Sugar', but 'Porcelain (China) Sugar'. The word for porcelain was also चीनी, and was employed to describe its white colour. Eventually the शक्कर was dropped, and it became simply चीनी - indistinguishable from the word for Chinese.
Bonus:
Speaking of sweet things and Sanskrit, the word candy has its roots in Sanskrit खण्ड (khanda) meaning candied sugar.
-E
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