Is the Aryan Invasion a Myth?

[David Salmon]

I quite agree with what you say.  I did not mean that linguistics had
nothing to offer: they have, and it has not been successfully refuted by
those who claim an Indian, i.e., non-Aryan, origin for the Vedas.  But they
don't prove much beyond the likelihood of some kind of invasion from
outside, and it seems unreliably facile as "science" goes.  My point is that
we need some hard facts to go with all the theory and supposition from both
sides (both of which enlist linguists).  I'd like to know what is down in
the dirt and what it tell us about (1) how far back the Indus-Sarasvati
civilization goes back, (2) what was the nature of its religious practices,
(3) what was the nature of its social structure, and (4) how this compares
with the Rig Veda accounts.  We will then have a better idea of who wrote
it.

-My- theory is an old one: that an outside group (Aryans?) subjugated an
existing Indian civilization, drove most of them away toward  the south and
the Ganges and made the remainder into outcaste slaves and serfs, adopted
the learning of the existing civilization and profited from it, and over
time, especially with the dessication of the Sarasvati valley, merged into
the existing society through a blending of gods and admission of certain
indigenous groups into the upper levels of the caste structure and continued
subjugation of the rest.  With time, most of the distinctions were smoothed
away, except for the caste system.  I suspect Indians would be on far
sounder ground if they attacked the caste system as a foreign corruption of
their religion, rather than claiming it proudly as their own indigenous
product.

Can I prove any of this?  No.

Could a linguist?  Yes and no, and perhaps.  Therein lies the rub.

David

-----Original Message-----
From: N. Ganesan <naga_ganesan at HOTMAIL.COM>
To: INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK <INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK>
Date: Monday, November 30, 1998 8:38 AM
Subject: Re: Is the Aryan Invasion a Myth?


>David Salmon writes:
>[...]
>* I think it is time to hear more from archaeologists,
>* and less from linguists. [...]
>
> Despite sustained archaeological searches, NO horse
> remains or equipment have been found in IVC dating prior to
> 1700 B.C. In about 4000 Indus seals, found in a wide
> area for about a century by archaeologists, horse is
> NOT depicted. On the other hand, Aryans and horses
> go hand in hand in the Rigveda.
>
> Linguistics points to the entry of Sanskrit into India
> and not the other way around. The Indigenous Aryan school
> is not able to dislodge this so far.
>
> Regards,
> N. Ganesan
>
>
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