aryan invasion myth - lal

8/3/2019 Aryan Invasion Myth - Lal

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OSTRICH-LIKE ATTITUDEIS PERPETUATING THEARYAN INVASION MYTH

ByB. B. LAL

Director General (Retd.)

Archaeological Survey of India


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THE BACKGROUND OF THEMYTH In 19th Cent. Max Muller dated Vedas to

1200 BCE on an ad hoc basis

Objections by scholars

Max Muller surrenders (Physical Religion,

1890): Whether the Vedic hymns were

composed in 1000 or 1500 or 2000 or

3000 BC, no power on earth will everdetermine.

Pity, some scholars still cling to 1200 BCE

and dare not cross this Lakshamana

Rekha


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. In 1920s Harappan Civilization was

discovered and dated to 3rd mill. BCE on

the basis of its contacts with West Asiancivilization

Since the Vedas had already been dated,be it wrongly, to 1200 BCE, the HarappanCivilization was declared to be Non-Vedic.And since the only other major language-group was the Dravidian, it was readilyassumed that the Harappans were aDravidian-speaking people.

In 1946 Wheeler discovered a fort atHarappa; and since the Aryan god Indra ismentioned in the Rigvedaaspuramdara,i.e. destroyer of forts, he declared thatAryan Invaders destroyed HarappanCivilization (Ancient India, No.3, 1947)


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FALLACY IN WHEELERS

ARGUMENT

In support of his Invasion theory, Wheelercited human skeletons at Mohenjo-daro(ibid.)

His interpretation is wrong; since theskeletons were found at differentstratigraphic levels and could not,therefore, be related to an invasion.

No evidence whatsoever of invasion at anyof the hundreds of Harappan sites. On theother hand, there is ample evidence ofcontinuity of habitation, though marked by

gradual cultural devolution.


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Cont.

That no new people at all arrivedbetween 4500-800 BCE, is dulyestablished by a detailed study of

human skeletal remains by Hemphill(in Harappa Excavations,1991).

Thus, if there is no evidence of

warfare nor of an alien people andtheir material culture, where is thecase for any invasion, much less byAryans?


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According to the Aryan Invasionthesis, the Invading Aryans drove

away the Dravidian-speakingHarappans to South India.

If there was any truth in it, one would

find settlements of Harappan refugeesin South India, but there is not even asingle Harappan or even Harappa-related setllement in any of theDravidian-speaking States.

CLAIM THAT HARAPPANSWERE DRAVIDIAN-SPEAKERSIS WRONG


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Contd.

Further, it is seen that even when new peopleoccupy a land, the names of at least some placesand rivers given by earlier people do continue. Forexample, in USA names of rivers like Missouri andMississippi or of places like Chicago and

Massachusetts given by earlier inhabitants docontinue even after the European occupation.

But there is no Dravidian river/place-name in theentire area once occupied by the Harappans, viz.from the Indus to upper reaches of the Yamuna. All told, therefore, there is no evidencewhatsoever for holding that Harappans were aDravidian-speaking people.


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A BACK-DOOR ENTRY

Having failed to establish AryanInvasion, Romila Thapar (1988-91:

259-60) invokes mechanism of

migration of pastoral cattle-

breeders.

Toeing her line, R. S. Sharma (1999:

77) says: the pastoralist came from

Bactria-Margiana Archaeological

Complex which saw the genesis of

the culture of the Rigveda.


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Contd.

But can Sharma cite even a singlesite in India, east of the Induswhich

was the main scene of the activity of

the Rigvedic peoplewhere remainsof BMAC have been found ?

He cannot, since there is none Then why indulge in baselessspeculations ?


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ANOTHER BACK-DOOR ENTRY

Possehl (1996:65) holds: the speakersof Vedic Sanskrit came from

elsewhere. This conclusion comes

from .. Indo-European words for trees

such as birch, Scotch pine, linden,

alder and oak. These are plants from a

temperate environment and the fact

that their names are shared amongthe early languages of the family

suggests a homeland in this

environment.


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. The Rigvedadoes not mention any ofthe cold-climate trees referred to byPossehl.

On the contrary, all trees mentionedin the Rigveda, e.g. Asvattha (FicusReligiosa), Nyagrodha (Ficusbenghalensis), etc. belong to tropicalclimate.

The same is true for the fauna Thus, a cold-climate-home thesis is

absolutely baseless


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WITZELS ABORTIVE

ATTEMPT In order to give a prop to the Aryan

Invasion theory, Witzel (1995: 320-21)deliberately mis-translates a part of

Baudhayana Srautasutra(18.44) asfollows: Ayu went eastwards. Hispeople are the Kuru-Panchala and Kasi-Videha. This is the Ayava (migration).(His other people) stayed at home inthe west. His people are the Gandhari,Parsu and Aratta. This is the Amavasugroup.


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The correct translation would,therefore, be: Ayu migratedeastwards. His people are the Kuru-Panchalas and Kasi-Videhas.Amavasu migrated westwards (andnot stayed back, as Witzel says) .His people are Gandhari, Parsu and

Aratta. In other words, the parting tookplace from an intermediary region,between Gandhara on the west and

Kurukshetra on the east. There is noquestion of any kind of migrationeastwards into India from the west.


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WERE THEN HARAPPANSTHEMSELVES VEDICARYANS?If there was no Aryan Invasion norwere the Harappans Dravidian-speakingpeople, could they themselves havebeen the Vedic Aryans ?

Against such an equation fourobjections have been raised, namely:

- (i) Whereas the Vedic people werenomads, the Harappans were urbanites;

- (ii) The Vedic people knew the horse,while the Harappans did not;


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- (iii) Whereas the Vedic people usedspoked wheels, the Harappans did not;

- (iv) Finally, since according to MaxMuller the Vedas were only as old as1200 BCE and Harappan Civilizationwas of the 3rd mill. BCE, how can thetwo be equated, chronologically?

All these objections are baseless.Briefly: Nomads ? Vedic people lived settled

life and constructed forts. In RV10.101.8 the prayer is: Oh gods, makestrong forts as of metal. RV4.30.20mentions hundred fortresses ofstone.


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Contd. Trade was carried on even on seas .

RV 9.33.6: O Soma, pour thou forth fourseas filled with a thousand-fold riches.The ships had sometimes as many as ahundred oars (sataritra).

Vedic people had sabhas and samitis andeven a hierarchy of rulers: Samrat, Rajanand Rajakas (RV6.27.8 & 8.21.8). Thatthese gradations were real is confirmedby Satapatha Brahmana(V.1.1.12-13):

By offering Rajasuyahe becomes Rajaand by Vajapeya,Samrat; the office ofRaja is lower and of Samrat, higher. Can we still call the Rigvedic people

Nomads ?


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Contd.

The Horse. In his Mohenjo-daroReport, Mackay states: The mostinteresting of model animals isone that I personally take torepresent the horse.Wheeler confirmed Mackays view.

Now a lot of new material hascome to light: from Lothal,Surkotada, Kalibangan, etc.

Lothal has yielded a terracottafigure as well as faunal remains ofthe horse


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Contd.

Reporting on the faunal remains

from Surkotada, the renownedinternational authority on horse-

bones, Sandor Bokonyi of

Hungary, emphasized: Theoccurrence of true horse (EquusCaballus L.) was evidenced by theenamel pattern of the upper andlower cheek and teeth and by thesize and form of the incisors andphalanges (toe bones).


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Contd.

Spoked wheel. Though the hotand humid climate of India does

not let wooden specimens

survive, there are enoughterracotta models of spokedwheels, e.g. from Kalibangan,Rakhigarhi, Banawali, etc.


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Chronological Horizonof the Vedas It is most crucial to ascertain the exact

chronological horizon of the Vedas,since the 1200-BCE fatwa of Max Mulleris at the root of the Aryan Invasion

theory The mention of a shift of vernal equinox

from Mrigasiras to Rohini in the AitareyaBrahmanahas led many astronomers toassign this text to ca. 3500 BCE andthus the Vedas to 4th mill. BCE. I amincompetent to offer any comments, butwould suggest that an internationalseminar be held on this topic to thrash it

out


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Contd.

However, of immense help is the

combined evidence ofarchaeology, geology, hydrology

and radiocarbon-dating

In this context, the role of RigvedicSarasvati is vital. According to RV10.75.5, it lay between Yamuna andSutlej; and flowed from mountains

to the sea (RV 7.95.2).It isidentifiable with the Ghaggar-Sarasvati combine which is nowdry downstream from Sirsa.


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On Sarasvatis bank stands Kalibangan, animportant site of Harappan Civilization.

Hydrological investigations reveal that the

site had to be abandoned because of thedrying up of the Sarasvatian event thattook place because of rise of Bata-Markanda Terrace in the Himalayas (Puriand Verma 1998).

It is interesting to note that thePanchavimsa Brahmana(XXV.10.16) toorefers to the drying up of the Sarasvati.

Radiocarbon dates show that Kalibangan

was abandoned around 2000 BCE. Since the Sarasvati was a mighty flowing

river during the Rigvedic times and it driedup around 2000 BCE, the Rigveda has tobe dated to a period prior to 2000 BCE.


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Contd. Since the Rigvedamust be dated prior to

2000 BCE and, according to RV10.75.5-6,the Rigvedic people occupied the areafrom the Ganga in the east to the Indus onthe west, a question may straightaway beasked: Archaeologically, which civilizationflourished in this very area prior to 2000BCE? The inescapable answer will have tobe: the Harappan.

Hence a Vedic=Harappan equation. Thiswould be further reinforced by asatisfactory decipherment of the Harappanscript, which, however, still awaited.


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Contd.

Now, even if Vedic people and Harappans werethe same, were they indigenous ? The answer isYes.

There is ample archaeological evidence todemonstrate that the Harappan Civilization,which attained maturity in 3rd mill. BCE, had itsroots in 6th mill. BCE. Some of the Carbon-14dates from recent excavations at Bhirrana in theSarasvati valley in modern Haryana are: 4536, 5041 & 6439 BCE. In other words, theHarappans were the sons of the soil.

Hence Vedic people too were indigenous.


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THE EVIDENCE OF

GENETICS A great deal of genetic research is

being carried out which throws lighton this issue and I quote here

Sanghamitra Sahoo et al. (2006: 843-48): The sharing of some Y-chromosomal haplogroups betweenIndian and Central Asian populations

is most parsimoniously explained bya deep, common ancestry betweenthe two regions, with diffusion ofsome Indian-specific lineagesnorthward. .


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Contd.

The Y-chromosomal dataconsistently suggest a largely South

Asian origin for Indian caste

communities and therefore argue

against any major influx, fromregions north and west of India, of

people associated either with the

development of agriculture or the

spread of the Indo-Aryan languagefamily.


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OSTRICH-LIKE ATTITUDE Seeing thou seeth not; knowing

thou ignoreth. How long wouldst

thou continue with this ostrich-like attitude ?

Shouldnt thou re-think and give

the Aryan Invasion theory aceremonial burial ?

O ll C lt l M i


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Overall Cultural Mosaic

As would be seen from the mapthat follows, the Vedic Aryans

occupied only the north-western

part of the Indian subcontinent.

There were other cultural

entities in other parts in 3rd mill.

BCE. All these got intermingled

later on in course of time andbrought into being the

composite Civilization.


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C S


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REFERENCES

Hemphill, B. E., J. R. Lukacs and K. A. R. Kennedy. 1991. Biological

Adaptations and Affinities of Bronze Age Harappans. In R. H. Meadow (ed.),Harappa Excavations 1986-1990, pp.137-82. Madison. Wisconsin:Prehistory Press.

Muller, F. Max. 1890, reprint 1979. Physical Religion. New Delhi: AsianEducational Services.

Possehl, Gregory L. 1996. Indus Age: The Writing System. New Delhi:Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.

Puri, V. M. K. and B. C. Verma. 1998. Glaciological and Geological Source

of Vedic Sarasvati in the Himalayas, Itihas Darpan,Vol. IV, No. 2: 7-36. Sahoo, Sanghamitra, et al. 2006. A prehistory of Indian Y chromosomes:

Evaluating demic diffusion scenarios. PNAS,Jan. 24, vol.103,no.4,843-848.

Sharma, R. S. 1999. Advent of the Aryans in India.New Delhi: ManoharPublishers.

Thapar, Romila. 1988-91. In Journal Asiatic Society of Bombay,vol. 64-66,pp. 259-60.

Wheeler, R. E. M. 1947. Harappa 1946: The Defences and Cemetery R 37.Ancient India, 3;58-130.

Witzel, Michael. 1995. Rigvedic History: poets, chieftains and polities. InGeorge Erdosy (ed.). The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia,pp. 307-52.Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

aryan invasion myth - lal

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