The Myth of the Aryan Civilization

Most modern historians believe the Aryan invasion of the Indus Valley civilization is a myth that diminishes the ancient history of India.

Saumi B.V. Giri writes in his article "The Aryan Invasion" that although many scholars such as August Wilhelm von Schlegal, Hern Wilhelm von Humboldt, and Arthur Schopenhauer openly accept that a civilization existed outside Europe before the time of Abraham and Moses. Some Western scholars presented a false concept of Aryan invasion to present Western race and religion as superior. The theory stated that the Aryans, a fair-skinned, blue-eyed, and sharp-nosed race from Central Asia destroyed the Indus Valley Civilization and pushed the Dravidians out of the region. This allowed Western people to assume that the great civilization of India arose from these white Aryans, not from the Dravidians.

However, according to the theory, the Aryan civilization existed around 1500 B.C. The Indus Valley Civilization existed during 3000 B.C, so it should have been there before the Aryans arrived. David Frawley discusses in his article "The Myth of the Aryan Invasion of India" that the leading scholar of the Aryan invasion theory, Max Mullar, believed in Biblical chronology, which set the beginning of the world at 400 B.C and the flooding of the world around 2500 B.C. Considering these two dates, it was difficult for Mullar to place the Aryans in India before 2500 B.C. Western scholars who followed Mullar believed that Aryans used horse-drawn chariots and iron weapons to defeat the Dravidians. They also claimed that no horses, chariots or iron was found at the archeological sites of the Indus Valley. But according to Frawley, further excavations of the sites have revealed the existence of horses not only in the Indus Valley sites, but also in pre-Indus sites. He also claims that horses had been in use for the whole range of ancient Indian history. By stating so, Frawly has challenged the whole concept of that Aryans could have carried chariots through mountains and deserts.

Frawley writes in his article the "Aryan-Dravidian Controversy" that there is no evidence of an outside origin of Hindu civilization, as the early Vedic text only describes the reformation of the society that already existed in the Indus Valley. If these views are to be accepted, ancient India might be the oldest and largest of ancient civilizations.

References:

The Sindhudesh. Electronic document, http://www.sindhudesh.com/gmsyed/sindhudesh/saeen-book3-chap5.html, accessed December 18, 2008.

The Aryan Invasion. Electronic document. http://www.gosai.com/chaitanya/saranagati/html/vedic-upanisads/aryan-invasion.html, accessed December 18,2008.

The Myth of the Aryan Invasion of India. Electronic document, http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/ancient/aryan/aryan_frawley.html, accessed December 18, 2008.

The Aryan-Dravidian Controversy. Electronic document, http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/ancient/aryan/aryan_frawley_1.html, accessed December 18, 2008

Written By Salman Hakim, 2009