Professor David Frawley will deliver a lecture to counter the “Marxist and western” concept that Aryans were invaders

Delhi University’s Sanskrit Department has its task cut out: to prove that the Aryans were not aliens but indigenous people.

Keeping that aim in mind, the department is all set to begin its controversial project, which was announced in September, and on Monday an American author will deliver a lecture to counter the “Marxist and western” concept that Aryans were invaders.

On Monday, American author David Frawley will be the first to express his views on the multi-series ‘Aryan Project’. Frawley, founder of the American Institute of Vedic Studies, will speak on ‘Aryan Theory in The Light of Textual Evidences’ at the university. In his books, Frawley has rejected the ‘Aryan Invasion Theory’.

Contentious issue

The ‘Aryan Invasion Theory’ is a contentious issue. Noted historians like Romila Thapar and D.N. Jha support the theory which claims that Aryans came from outside India as invaders. However, the rightwing historians reject the invasion theory, claiming Aryans were indigenous Indians who established the Saraswati Valley civilisation.

“Frawley is one of the many speakers who have worked for several years on this topic. In his books, ‘The Myth of the Aryan Invasion of India’ and ‘In Search of the Cradle of Civilization’, Frawley criticises the 19th-century racial interpretation of Indian prehistory, such as the theory of the conflict between invading Caucasoid Aryans and Dravidians,” head of Sanskrit Department Ramesh Bhardwaj told MAIL TODAY.

Bhardwaj said the department will conduct at least seven lectures. “We are using seven tools, including textual evidence, archaeological evidences, linguistics, comparative religion, comparative folk literature and genetic mapping. We will organise seminars, workshops and talks on each of these tools. Experts from the country and abroad will come and present their works. We will compile all the evidences,” he said.

He said the department has no funds and they will soon approach the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) for conducting further research. “We have some funds but that is not enough. We will write to the university and to the ICHR for more funds,” he said.

In September, the Sanskrit Department had announced that it will undertake research to prove that Aryans were not migrants.

The controversial project is the brainchild of Delhi University’s Sanskrit Department (Picture for representation)

The Sanskrit Department had also announced that it will undertake a thorough study of History textbooks of various state and national boards to prepare a detailed on report on representation of ‘Vedic age and Aryan culture’ in History books and suggest a revision. The report will be submitted to the HRD ministry asking them to take corrective measures.

“Aryan culture and Vedic age is not being truly reflected in textbooks of almost all the boards, including CBSE and state boards. Only western and Marxist views are being reflected at present. We will study and make a report on what should be reflected in books. Like, the ‘Aryan Migration Theory’ is debatable. So why not give students the version of Indian historians too? We will use textual evidences and the researches done in the last 100 years,” Bhardwaj had said.