Three Aryan invasions

Illustration/Devdutt Pattanaik

When people speak of the Aryan invasion, it is important to clarify which Aryan invasion they are talking about. Believe it or not, there are actually THREE.

The first Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT.v1) is based on Max Mueller's textual analysis of Rig Veda, Mortimer Wheeler's archeological analysis of Harappan sites, and the ideologies of European racists from the early 20th century. This theory has been repeatedly and thoroughly debunked by the late 20th century. But it is kept alive by those who use it to "prove" the Out Of India Theory, the idea that India is the original homeland of Aryans.

OIT was the original theory of Max Mueller, who was forced by scholars (not racists) to change his mind. While in jail, Balgangadhar Tilak wrote his famous "Arctic home of Vedas" and used astronomical calculations to indicate many Vedic verses were written North of the Himalayas. OIT scholars totally ignore Tilak.

The second Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT.v2) is actually Aryan Migration Theory (AMT.v1). When OIT bashes AIT across the social media, they are referring only to AIT.v1, not AIT.v2. This clever strategy confuses uneducated uninformed viewers. Version 1 claimed Aryans destroyed Harappan cities but Version 2 clarifies Aryan migration happened hundreds of years after Harappan cities collapsed due to climate change. Migrants encountered villages and tribes. There may have been violence, but hardly any "invasion". This happened between 1500 BCE and 1000 BCE and migrants were mostly men who married local women.

This has been proven by peer-reviewed ancient DNA research papers published in the last decade. It showed a gradual influx from 1500 BCE to 1000 BCE of the Steppe Y chromosome, that is found in men and ensures lactose tolerance (Harappans were lactose intolerant and used to curdle milk before turning it into ghee). This corroborates with linguistics and archeological studies as well as studies on horse domestication.

Any "expert" who talks about AIT without referring to such peer reviewed papers, claiming there is a global conspiracy, cannot be taken seriously. If they do not mention BMAC sites of Central Asia, the probable site where "Indra broke three-walled forts", or do not refer to absence of horses and presence of BMAC ‘antennae' swords at Sinauli "chariot" burials, they are clearly preaching to the choir.

This brings us to the third Aryan Invasion Invasion or AIT.v3 (actually migration, AMT.v2) which explains why the Steppe Y chromosome (and lactose tolerance) is found across all communities in north India, but only in elite communities of South India. This means a migration from the north of the Vindhyas to the South. This migration was peaceful, followed trade routes, seems to have happened around 1,000 to 2,000 years ago, giving rise to pilgrim spots along southern river basins and seacoasts. It minimised after the practice of endogamy became very strict across the country, and we find a watertight compartment system known as "jati" emerging.

With AIT.v3 (AMT.v2), Buddhism, Jainism, Vedism and Hindu temple culture came south. This was Agastya's legendary (historical?) migration southwards, after causing the Vindhya mountain to bend. On his shoulder yoke (kavad), he carried Mount Kailasa and the Ganga river, which even today inspires the pyramidal roofs and ponds of temple architecture. This is why many mountains and rivers of the south are called Daksin-Kailas and Dakshin-Ganga. This is why the holiest Hindu sites including historical homes of Ram, Krishna and Shiva are in North India or rather, in Arya-varta.

The author writes and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times. Reach him at devdutt.pattanaik@mid-day.com