Aryan Invasion/migration Theories & Debates -2

[acharya]

3.2.1 THE REAL MEANING OF THE WORD ARYA

True, the Rig Veda and the other Vedas and Puranas have, at times, mentioned the word Arya. It was dear old Max who is again credited with the introduction of the word Arya into the English language as referring to a racial, linguistic category when propounding the AIT. This is glaringly a false conception of the term, which, he himself has admitted later on. Nonetheless, it was unquestioningly accepted.
The real meaning of the word Arya, however comes to mean ‘a gentleman’, good-natured, righteous person, noble-man, and is often used like 'Sir' or 'Shree' before the name of a person like Aryaputra, Aryakanya, etc. In Ramayan (Valmiki), for example, Rama is described as an Arya in the following words: Arya - who cared for the equality to all and was dear to everyone. V.S. Apte's Sanskrit-English dictionary relates the word Arya to the root r-,to which a prefix a has been appended to give a negating meaning. And therefore the meaning of Arya is given as "excellent, best", followed by "respectable" and as a noun, "master, lord, worthy, honourable, excellent", upholder of Arya values, and further: teacher, employer, master, father-in-law, friend, Buddha.
Thus, we see that even in the myriad of meanings and connotations that the word carries, relative to different interpretations, like all Sanskrit words, nowhere does it mean a race or a linguistic group. This linguistically absurd idea was the result of a complete misinterpretation and mistranslation of Sanskrit by Müller. Etymologically, according to Max Müller, the word Arya was derived from ar-, "plough, to cultivate". Therefore, Arya means - "cultivator" agriculturer (civilized sedentary, as opposed to nomads and hunter-gatherers), landlord, etc.
In fact, scientific literature now confirms that there are primarily only four races in the world. There are only four primary races, namely, Caucasian, the Mongolian, the Australians and the Negroid. Both the Aryans and Dravidians are related branches of the Caucasian race generally placed in the same Mediterranean sub-branch. The difference between the so-called Aryans of the north and the Dravidians of the south or other communities of Indian subcontinent is not a racial type. Biologically all are the same Caucasian type, only when closer to the equator the skin gets darker, and under the influence of constant heat, the bodily frame tends to get a little smaller. Moreover, these differences cannot be the basis of two altogether different races. Similar differences one can observe even more distinctly among the people of pure Caucasian white race of Europe. Caucasian can be of any colour ranging from pure white to almost pure black, with every shade of brown in between.
Further, a recent landmark global study in population genetics by a team of internationally reputed scientists over 50 years reveals that the people habited in the Indian subcontinent and nearby including Europe, all belong to one single race of Caucasian type. According to this study, there is essentially, and have been no difference racially between north Indians and the so-called Dravidian South Indians. The racial composition has remained almost the same for millennia. This study also confirms that there is no race called as an Aryan race. (Luca Cavalli-Sforza).

3.2.2 WARS AND SKELETONS
The Rig-Veda contains references to wars that have occurred during its period. This is used by the ‘invasionists’ to further their claims about the war between the dark skinned Dravidians and the fair-skinned Aryans. This is a gross misinterpretation of the Vedas and as we shall see, has no connection whatsoever to an invading tribe. So what do these wars that are mentioned refer to? They can be studied under two broad categories: (Agarwal, 1995)
• The Wars between forces of nature: Indra, the Thunder-God of the Rig Veda, occupies a central position in the naturalistic aspects of the Rig Vedic religion, since it is he who forces the clouds to part with their all-important wealth, the rain. In this task he is pitted against all sorts of demons and spirits whose main activity is the prevention of rainfall and sunshine. The clouds are depicted in terms of their physical appearance: as mountains, as the black abodes of the demons who retain the celestial waters of the heavens (i.e. the rains), or as the black demons themselves. Thus, it is a conflict between the rain(pure, white) and the clouds(dark, evil). This, in no way, is to be construed as the war between white Aryans and black Dravidians. This is a perverted interpretation from those who have not understood the meaning and purport of the Vedic culture and philosophy. Most of the verses, which mention the wars/conflicts, are composed using poetic imagery, and depict the celestial battles of the natural forces, and often take greater and greater recourse to terrestrial terminology and anthropomorphic depictions. The descriptions acquire an increasing tendency to shift from naturalism to mythology.

• Actual conflict between different groups: Iranians are known to have been originally residing in Northern India, but had an ideological schism from the Vedic Indians. Due to which, they moved out to the North West. However, there were quite a few wars between the two groups. The Iranians not only called their God Ahura (Vedic Asura) and their demons Daevas (Vedic Devas), but they also called themselves Dahas and Dahyus (Vedic Dasas, and Dasyus). The oldest Iranian texts moreover depict the conflicts between the daeva-worshippers and the Dahyus on behalf of the Dahyus, as the Vedic texts depict them on behalf of the Deva-worshippers. There also mentions of the various conflicts between different indigenous tribal groups over natural resources and various minor kingdoms to gain supremacy over the land and its expansion.
There have been a few skeletons that were excavated from the Harappa and Mohenjo daro sites, which is conveniently explained as the bodies of the warriors who fought the battle against the invaders. However, consider the facts properly. A city of 3 miles in circuit has given way to only 37 skeletons, which can be attributed to the Indus Valley period! Does that represent a war? They were all found in the area of the Lower Town - probably the residential district. Not a single body was found within the area of the fortified citadel where one could reasonably expect the final defence of this thriving capital city to have been made. (Dales, 1964)
Further, one can reasonably expect some sort of souvenirs from the war. The war site can expect to have burned fortresses, arrowheads, weapons, pieces of armour, smashed chariots and bodies of the invaders or defenders, etc. Nevertheless, the extensive excavations at these sites provide not even a clue to such an invasion having been taken place.


3.2.3 INDUS SCRIPT DECIPHERMENT
S. R Rao, a renowned Indian archaeologist, who worked in the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India), has done extensive research on the Indus script. This work has borne fruitful results, as he has been able to bridge the gap between the ancient Indus script and the Brahmi script. The language that he deciphered belonged to the Aryan language family after all. The people who resided at Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, and other sites were culturally Aryan is thus confirmed by the decipherment of the Harappan script and its identity with Sanskrit family. The Harappa culture was a part of a continuing evolution of the Vedic culture, which had developed on the banks of Saraswati River.
Among the many words yielded by Dr. Rao's decipherment are the numerals aeka, tra, chatus, panta, happta/sapta, dasa, dvadasa and sata (1,3,4,5,7, 10,100) and the names of Vedic personalities like Atri, Kasyapa, Gara, Manu, Sara, Trita, Daksa, Druhu, Kasu, and many common Sanskrit words like, apa (water), gatha, tar (savior), trika, da, dyau (heaven), dashada, anna (food), pa(protector), para (supreme), maha, mahat, moksh, etc.
While the direct connection between the late Indus script (1600 BC) and the Brahmi script could not be definitely established earlier, more and more inscriptions have been found all over the country in the last few years, dating 1000 BC, 700 BC, and so on, which have bridged the gap between the two. Now it is evident that the Brahmi script evolved directly from the Indus script. (Rao, 1991)


3.2.3.1 HORSEPLAY AT HARAPPA
In 2000, N. Jha and N. S Rajaram published a book “The Deciphered Indus Script”. The findings of this book are astounding. It simultaneously achieves a two fold objective: It links the ancient Indus script to the Vedic culture and also proves that the script on the Indus seals are perhaps the oldest available ‘writings’ by any human civilization. “In the Indus seals, we have in all probability the mother of alphabetic writing” is the conclusion drawn after Jha’s phenomenal work. Though the seals were found in 1920s, it could not be appropriately deciphered previous to Jha’s work because of the dogma of the AIT. It is impossible to decipher unless the Indus script can be seen as a predecessor to the Brahmi script and its content cannot be comprehended unless seen as part of the overall Vedic culture. This was yet another blow to the Theory.
However, strangely, this phenomenal work by Jha and Rajaram was sidelined and ‘scholars’ such as Steve Farmer and Michael Witzel were more interested in horses. They go on to label the book as ‘Hindutva propaganda’ (Michael Witzel, 2000). Their main qualm with the book is that the authors have misrepresented a particular seal where a bull is shown to look like a horse.
It is impossible not to question: ...why bother with one unimportant seal when the book gives a complete methodology and one hundred tables of deciphered readings covering over fifteen hundred Harappan seals? In a book of nearly 300 pages, there are just two footnotes about the horse. (The article by Witzel and Farmer occupies ten pages of small print followed by a two-page article by ‘eminent historian’ Romila Thapar about horses.)
The point is that the defenders of the AIT have held that the Harappans did not have horses and it was this point that made them weak and susceptible to the Aryans who had a fairly good cavalry. By proving that horses were, in fact, known to the Indus civilization before the supposed invasion of the Aryans, their entire theory falls flat. Thus all of this horseplay is nothing but a desperate attempt on part of the Western academicians, Indologists and the tribe of Thapars (communist Historians) to save the theory from being completely discarded. “The Frontline article is part of the campaign to somehow save the crumbling edifice of the Aryan invasion version by creating diversions and raising the spectre of ‘Hindutva propaganda’. The real agenda is clear: protect their discredited Aryan invasion/migration version and the non-Indian origin of the Vedic civilization by labeling opponents as ‘Hindutva propagandists’. The rest is diversion.” (Rajaram N. S., 2000)
“Men like Witzel are successors to these colonial-missionary scholars, while Indians like Thapar and her tribe, are their camp followers. Our book exposes this. So their tactic is to discredit the book by attacking us personally. This is exactly what the ‘Secularists’ did to the distinguished archaeologist B.B. Lal when he exposed their lies at Ayodhya. More things change, more they remain the same.” (Rajaram N. S., 2000)
What reason do the duo give for their long article criticizing Jha’s and Rajaram’s work? What importance is a horse seal from centuries old civilization to the German and American scholars? Why, its the ‘White man’s burden’ card played all over again. Can’t Indians think for themselves and decide the authenticity of the work? Apparently not, which is why they feel they have to caution us. “We fear for India and for objective scholarship.” (Michael Witzel, 2000) So Witzel and Farmer have to save India and Indians from being corrupted by devilish ‘heathens’ and ‘natives’ like Rajaram, Jha and Talageri!
But seriously, who are they trying to kid? Surely, there must be other reasons why someone like Witzel should go to such length to attack two writers who he himself dismisses as of no consequence. One reason is probably emotional. Witzel is a German Romantic. His heroes still are nineteenth century German Indologists like Bothlingk and especially Oldenberg. Therefore, it is natural that he should be attached to nineteenth century German ideas like the ‘Aryan nation’ and the ‘Aryan invasion’. But there is a more serious concern: fear of academic survival in the face of ‘downsizing the humanities’ at American universities. The collapse of the Aryan Invasion model of history, which the work records, and which is receiving wide notice, could not have come at a worse time for the likes of Witzel. Their careers and reputations are at stake. This is what one needs to understand. Harvard, like many other universities, in America is not interested in funding research offices and programs that are unproductive and which does not attract new students. Thus, unless Witzel and his likes do not weave research papers regularly, off goes their funding.
That apart, horses were really found in Harappa. Numerous excavated sites along Indus valley and along the dried Saraswati river have produced bones of domesticated horses. Dr. SR Rao informs us that horse bones have been found both from the 'Mature Harappan' and 'Late Harappan' levels. In fact, as far back as 1928, John Marshall, Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India had written about Harappan sites: “Among the domesticated animals were— the humped long horned Indian bull (Bos Indicus) (of which to judge by the frequency of the remains large herds must have been maintained), the sheep, pig, dog, horse and the elephant.” And he is quite specific about the horse: “The horse in the Indus Valley was the small ‘equis cabalus’ near akin to the Indian country bred.”

3.3 DAVID FRAWLEY’S PARADOX
The Harappans of the Indus Valley have left profuse archaeological records over a vast region - from the borders of Iran and beyond Afghanistan to eastern UP and Tapti valley, and must have supported over 30 million people and believed to be living an advanced civilization. And yet these people have left absolutely no literary records. Sounds incredible! The Vedic Aryans and their successors on the other hand have left us a literature that is probably the largest and most profound in the world. But according to the AIT there is absolutely no archaeological record that they ever existed. Either on the Indian soil or outside its boundaries. So we have concrete history and archeology of a vast civilization of 'Dravidians' lasting thousands of years that left no literature, and a huge literature by the Vedic Aryans who left no history and no archaeological records. The situation gets more absurd when we consider that there is profuse archaeological and literary records indicating a substantial movement of Indian Aryans out of India into Iran and West Asia around 2000 BC. (Frawley, 1999)
Sanskrit is supposed to be the language of primitive invaders and yet it is, by the opinion of many, one of the most refined languages in the world. It has been regarded as the best language for computers because of its clarity. How can a nomadic primitive tribe develop such a sophisticated language while a highly advanced civilization with intense knowledge of maths and science has no literary developments at all?
Sanskrit is also a highly self-contained language developing organically out of specific roots, quite unlike English, which is a mixture of various different languages like old German, Danish and French, with an admixture of Greek and Latin, reflecting a land that was invaded by many different peoples. This also goes to show that Sanskrit was home to the Indus Valley Civilization.

3.4 THE REAL EXPLANATION
Though for many years now, renowned scholars and academicians have been refuting the AIT on numerous grounds but, were not able to provide a firm alternative explanation to the reason of the abandonment of the Harappan cities. The final nail on the coffin of the AIT was delivered with the finding of the dried course of the river Saraswati.
In the Rig-Veda, the honour of the greatest and holiest river was not bestowed upon Ganga but upon the River Saraswati. a mighty flowing river all the way from the Himalayas to the ocean across the Rajasthan desert. The Ganga is mentioned only once while the Saraswati is mentioned at least 60 times.
In 1910, G E Pilgrim published a landmark paper in which he drew attention to an alluvial deposit of great antiquity found stretching all the way from the Himalayan foothills to the Sind gulf Pilgrims imagined the deposit to have been laid by a primitive river. Recent satellite imagery by the NASA and ISRO have shown a dried up river bed along this course. Geological excavations have also proven the same.
The River Saraswati seemed to have changed directions atleast four times in her lifespan, each time shifting to a more westerly alignment according to geological data. She seems to have been massive, up to five miles across in her heyday, flowing through Hanumangarh in Rajasthan to Marot in Pakistan as divulged by satellite photography. The Post Graduate Research Institute, Deccan College has worked out the changing routes of the river in detail. About 4000 BC, Saraswati in her original course emanating from the Himalayas lay in a south-west direction passing through Mathura and Panchbhadra to the mouth of the Kutch. With the climate turning drier, the flow shifted between Sirsa and Nohar through Bikaner. The next shift occurred with the flow through Rangmahal, also in Rajasthan. In the tertiary stage she wended her way through Jaikkal and Hanumangarh during the Indus civilisation and in the fourth and final stage she flowed westward from Samargarh to merge with the Indus, thereby losing her independent identity'. (Rao V. G., 2000). And therefore, the river, finally, dried up by 3000 BC.
This has two serious implications. Firstly, as mentioned earlier, the Rig-Veda is full of praise to this particular river. The river called Saraswati is the most important of the rivers mentioned in the Rig Veda. The image of this 'great goddess stream' dominates the text. It is not only the most sacred river but also the Goddess of wisdom. She is said to be the Mother of the Veda.
A few Rig Vedic hymns, which mention Saraswati River, are presented below:
ambitame naditame devitame sarasvati (II.41.16)
(The best mother, the best river, the best Goddess, Saraswati)
maho arnah saraswati pra cetayati ketuna dhiyo visva virajati (I.3.12)
(Saraswati like a great ocean appears with her ray, she rules all inspirations)
surpassing all other rivers and waters: visva apo mahina sindhur anyah;
pure in her course from the mountains to the sea: sucir yati girbhya a samudrat (VII.95.1-2)
If the river dried up by 3000 BC, then it must have been flowing in its full intensity at least a 1000 years back when she would have deserved the praises accorded to her in the Veda. This proves that the Rig-Veda belongs to a period of at least 4000 BC, much earlier than the supposed invasion.
The second important implication is that it proves that the Harappan civilization was formed on the bed of the River, much like any ancient civilization. Numerous archaeological sites have also been located along the course of this great prehistoric river. A 350 km land survey conducted in 1985 by V S Wakankar from Adibadri to Somnath has yielded over 160 more sites on the dried-up course of the river. Thus, when the river did dry up in 3000 BC, the Harappans, who were dependent on the mighty river, moved along with the river when she changed her course. The ending of Indus Valley and the Saraswati civilization was due to the constant floods and drought in the Indus area and the drying up of the Saraswati River. There was no invasion or battle but merely an ecological change that made the Harappans abandon their home and move towards other perennial rivers, which could provide sustenance. This is the truth and there ends the matter!

CONCLUSION
We have seen that the AIT was the invention of a few parochial and nationalist scholars, which is used till date for political ends. The far-reaching consequences of this theory cannot be overstated and, as we have seen, never before in history has any theory been so abused to subjugate a group of people.
The truth is clear: there was never an invasion but the city was deserted because of ecological reasons. The Rig-Veda dates clearly earlier than 3700 BC and the Indus script can be placed on a continuum of the evolution of the Sanskritic script.
Based on Vedic testimonies, Puranic references, archaeological evidences, and all the accounts presented here above, the most realistic and accurate chronological events of the pre-historic period of India should be fixed as follows:<b>
• Vedic Age - 7000-4000 BC
• End of Rig Vedic Age - 3750 BC
• End of Ramayana - Mahabharat Period - 3000 BC
• Development of Saraswati-Indus Civilization - 3000-2000 BC
• Decline of Indus and Saraswati Civilization - 2200-1900 BC
• Period of Complete chaos and migration - 2000-1500 BC
• Period of evolution of syncretic Hindu culture - 1400 - 250 BC</b>
Finally, we should remember that this was just another tool in the British armor in their colonial expansion agenda, which is strangely supported by a blindly following group of Indian historians and has, unfortunately, succeeded in permeating the mindset of the Indian population.
Therefore, while acknowledging its falsity on the personal level is the first step, much needs to be done with regards to exposing the myth in the eyes of the public. This perhaps, entails sweeping out of irresponsible, dishonest and ideologically fixed academicians from prominent posts, who decide what the young minds imbibe and simultaneously endeavour to rewrite history based on facts and academic honesty!








WORKS CITED
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Elst, K. (1998). Astronomical data and the Aryan question. Leuven .
Frawley, D. (1999). The Myth of the Aryan Invasion of India, In Search of the Cradle of Civilization.
Luca Cavalli-Sforza, P. M. The History and Geography of Human Genes. Princeton University Press.
Michael Witzel, S. F. (2000). Horseplay in Harappa. Frontline .
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Playfair, J. (1790). Dharampal: Indian Science and Technology.
Rajaram, N. Aryan Invasion - History or Politics?
Rajaram, N. S. (2000). Harappan Horseplay: The real story.
Rao, S. R. (1991). Decipherment of the Indus Script, Dawn and Development of Indus Civilization, Lothal and the Indus Civilization.
Rao, V. G. (2000, November 13). Saraswati: River Beyond the Myth. Times Of India .
Thapar, R. (1992). The Perennial Aryans.
Vivekananda. The Myth of Aryans and non-Aryans. Madras.