Elst's review of Kochhar's Vedic People

[Paul Kekai Manansala]

Vijay Shankar wrote:
>

> Horse(asva in Skt, aspa in Avestan) is a fundamenta,basic,crucial part of
> the Vedic and Avestan culture as well as of the Indo-Europeans in
> general.

I do not agree with this statement, or at least the last two parts of
it.

India is not the natural habitat of the MODERN horse.There are no
> wild horses in India .If India is the original home of the Aryans where did
> they get horse from?Mr Erst would perhaps like to explain.

You might want to check a little deeper into specialized literature.
In fact, Asiatic horses of today often show anatomical features
related to the prehistoric Indian horse (Equus sivalensis).

One problem with early Indological theory is that they often just
dipped deep enough into other fields to support their assertions.

For example, according to some Indologists 'Vedic Aryans' were supposed
to be cattle herders from the Central Asian steppe who brought their
herds and cow worship with them.

However, the Indian cow is an entirely different breed than Bos
taurus of West Asia, separated by many thousands of years. And the zebu
shows little signs of introgression from bos taurus, quite the reverse
in fact.

Also, the steppe is really not suitable for cattle herders (or
charioteers for that matter). Goats, sheep, camels, etc. are the
adaptable livestock.

Elements of cow/bull worship are already apparent in Harappan
civilization.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala

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