Why the AAP should win in Delhi

It is truly commendable that in the face of the superbly orchestrated BJP juggernaut there is still an island of resistance in Delhi. Nothing exemplifies the divide between India and Bharat or between the fat cats and the common man more than the protagonists in the Delhi assembly elections. The AAP has come a long way since the euphoric days of the last Delhi poll. They were then lionised by the English media and the twitterati and even the middle class felt that they were knights in shining armour who had come to save them from the awful mess that the Congress had created. What bound them all together was a unipolar rejection of corruption as the most corrosive force in Indian politics. Unfortunately, that singular thought was the only cement that kept the AAP together. On all other issues and methods there was a sharp divergence between the middle class supporters of the AAP and the actual Aam Aadmi. The former were repelled by the tactics that the AAP employed. Sleeping on the pavement in freezing rain did not appeal to their delicate sensibilities and neither did the anarchist statements that Kejriwal was fond of issuing at regular intervals.

To understand the deep and fundamental divide between these two constituents of AAP supporters, past and present is to understand the realities that the poor of India face on a daily basis. Mayawati captures the angst of poor and dispossessed Indians who rebel against an oppressive religion and an establishment that seems to be geared only for exploitation of the poorest of the poor. Indians, specifically Hindus, need to ask themselves why there has been such large scale conversions to Islam and Christianity over the years. The fact is that Hinduism is a discriminatory religion. Caste is the most pernicious of all methods invented by man to divide and rule the ones who don't belong. In a similar vein and in fact derived from the influences of religion, the divide between India (the land of the haves) and Bharat (the land of the have nots) runs deep and strong. It is this divide that is being played out in the Delhi elections. The BJP and the Congress are essentially two sides of the same coin. The advantage that the former has is of decisive, strong and determined leadership at the top. Otherwise their chosen paths and end objectives are remarkably similar. It is a telling point that the political class closed ranks against the Lok Pal bill. Nobody really wanted crony capitalism, nepotism and corruption to actually be curbed. It only makes for good election speeches.

In the face of all this, Kejriwal and his band of determined, albeit motley men and women truly stand out. The common man in Delhi is really convinced that they are the only party that actually stands for them. Lofty promises, spectacular parades, good 'governance' at the national level and so and so forth make very little difference to the Aam Aadmi. He is concerned about Mohalla affairs, corruption at the transactional level, rising costs of daily necessities and utilities, safety of women, law and order and similar matters. The sad fact is that the neither of the national parties are capable or willing to address these issues at the grass roots level. In terms of numbers the real Aam Aadmi (blue collar workers, small businessmen, junior staff employed by Private Sector or Government) are solidly behind the AAP. With the decline in the Congress, the Muslim voter is also looking favourably at the AAP. It is only the English press and the middle and upper classes who have turned against them. While this segment is vocal and articulate, it forms a small fraction of Delhi. Ultimately Bharat is far bigger than India. Every time the English press attacks the AAP, the party gains as the underdog who has bravely fought a good fight. It would not be prudent to forecast the results of the Delhi elections but in a microcosm it is a fight for the underdog, a fight for the soul of India.

The AAP has already changed the tenor of public discourse in India. It would be great if they could form a stable government in Delhi and demonstrate how they could improve the lot of the common people of this great city. 

The AAP - Green Shoots?

For those us who mourned in secret when the AAP self-destructed after Arvind Kejriwal resigned as Chief Minister of Delhi there may yet be hope. It seems that as winter approaches there may yet be a market for mufflers.

Consider the facts. The dear departed Congress has gone into complete hibernation. Unless they decide to jettison the dynasty and embark on the painful process of rebuilding with a new (hypothetical) set of non-geriatric and non-crook leaders they appear to be on the slippery slope to irrelevance. The BJP, of course, is on a high with even staunch nay-sayers having been forced to acknowledge the power of Mr. Modi. Backed by his firepower, the BJP is hoping for a clean sweep in Delhi in the coming assembly polls. However they are operating under several disadvantages that are growing as time goes on:
1. There is a small but growing chorus of criticism about the BJP and its activities. The fact is that they have taken all the schemes and ideas of the Congress Government, dusted and polished them and put them out for public edification. The mantra is ‘good implementation’ not ‘great ideas.’ Unfortunately implementation of major projects at the National level takes a lot of time and the fickle public is unwilling to grant them the indulgence.
2. The hard edge of Hindutva is beginning to show its face. To his credit, Mr. Modi has steered a very clear path in his public statements. However, the likes of Yogi Adityanath and the Sadhvi have muddied the waters and unsettled the Muslim community. The intelligentsia is also concerned by what they perceive as attempts to saffronise history and meddle with the educational curriculum.
3. There is a certain high handedness and ruthlessness that is evident in the way that some of the opposition states are being dealt with. Admittedly Jayalalitha was convicted by a court and the central government had nothing to do with it. However, as a pressure tactic it was quite effective. The drama in Bengal is unfolding as we speak. How do people react to this? For the committed it is a reinforcement of the political effectiveness of the party’s leaders. For those on the fence it may appear a bit too forceful for their liking. For the opposition it may just send a shiver down their spines.
4. At the state level the new BJP Chief Ministers are a bit of a mixed bag. Fadnavis seems to speak the development lingo fairly well but Khattar appears a bit old fashioned for the likes of glitzy Gurgaon. In Delhi, no clear leader has emerged. All the old names being tossed around seem tired and jaded. Perhaps the party can yet pull out a surprise but as of now the lack of a clear leader adds to the feeling of ‘been there, done that.’
5. On the economic front the key driver has been the decline in oil prices. This has brought down inflation and the government has been able to add to its coffers in a rather painless manner. All this has nothing to do with India and its government. There is no progress on dismantling other subsidies. Company performance is still lacklustre and it does appear that the boom in the stock market may yet be an illusion.

In Delhi, there is a growing feeling that local issues are not being addressed. The AAP is, of course, taking full advantage of this and with good reason:
1. Power bills have been further inflated after the AAP Government left. While oil prices and inflation have come down almost to zero this does appear a bit surprising. The much promised audit of the Discoms has also not happened in any significant way. Clearly the current dispensation is not really motivated to pursue such agendas.
2. The issue of women’s safety continues to be of prime concern. Two years after the Nirbhaya atrocity the perpetrators are still under trial and the so called ‘fast track’ case is meandering along. Recent polls indicate that women continue to face harassment on a daily basis and that nothing has really changed. If for no other reason, the current government headed by the Lt. Governor should hang their heads in shame.
3. Traffic and parking is going from bad to worse. Average travel times in Delhi have almost doubled in the last few years and most of the roads are full of encroachments and debris. There does not appear to be any enforcement and Delhi is fast beginning to look like a drab West UP town.

The AAP is also a chastened party today. They made a series of mistakes starting with running away from the Delhi Government to attempting to compete for a national showing in the Lok Sabha. Many of their erstwhile supporters have also left them, perhaps for the better as it makes the party more consistent.

However what endeared them to people was their genuine concern for the common man and his problems. Day to day corruption, sanitation, inflation and women’s issues are what people are really worried about. It does sound grand to say that Obama will be the chief guest for Republic Day but it rings hollow when 97% of women in the same city said that they have been harassed in public or that many people still defecate in the open and have no access to clean drinking water.

It is not enough to make grand speeches and inaugurate big programmes. Social change comes about on the ground – house by house, street by street. It needs the junoon and commitment of an Arvind Kejriwal to actually make it happen in our capital city. Perhaps the ‘green shoots’ of the AAP may yet overcome the winter of our discontent.

Religiosity and Spiritualism

There has often been a debate on whether there is such a thing as ‘Universal Human Values’ It may be argued that human beings have evolved a set of ‘Dos and Don’ts’ or views on what is desirable and what is anti-social behaviour that are almost invariant across societies in time and space. Murder, robbery, infidelity, lying and cheating are considered reprehensible in all societies. On the positive side truthfulness, family values, kindness, generosity, forbearance and other similar traits would be considered desirable almost anywhere. In a sense these traits or behaviour patterns may be classified as ‘Disruptive’ or ‘Cohesive’ so far as society is concerned. Society as defined as a fellowship or group of like-minded people who live, intermarry and work together demands cohesiveness and will tend to oppose disruptive behaviour.

It follows, therefore that those members of society who practice cohesive behaviour are regarded as ‘good’ and their behaviour is worthy of emulation as role models. Mahatma Gandhi would be probably the best example of such a person. While he was a deeply religious Hindu he did not hesitate to oppose some of the religion’s pernicious practices like untouchability. It is important to understand that people like Mahatma Gandhi are not religious figures in the conventional sense or ‘God Men’ in the uniquely Indian phrase. They are ‘Spiritual’ leaders and it would be useful to dwell on this thought for a while.  A Spiritual person by his behaviour, sayings and deeds is someone whom society looks up to and respects. Who does not propagate a blind faith in religion but rather inculcates respect for all humanity. Someone who works tirelessly for the uplift of the human spirit and is in that sense a spiritual person.

The other end of the spectrum is a Religious person. Most religions try to define a cause and effect relationship between your deeds and the end result. If you follow the Ten Commandments you will go to heaven. Similarly you will find Moksha if you feed Brahmins or bathe in the Ganga. In most cases the kind of behaviour that religions wish to foster is broadly similar to the behaviour that a spiritual person would aspire too. In that sense there appears to be little dichotomy between Spiritualism and Religiosity. However there are a few critical differences. There is an element of coercion in religion. If you not feed Brahmins you will not attain Moksha. It is almost as if mankind has to be bribed like fractious children to do God’s bidding. The second key difference between Religiosity and Spiritualism is based on logic vs faith. Spiritualism is logical as it fosters behaviour that benefits society. It is an end in itself inasmuch that the Spiritual person is liked, respected and emulated by his fellow men. That should be motivation enough. However, religion takes a crucial step beyond mere logic. It attempts to provide answers to basic existential questions. What is the purpose of our existence? What will happen to us after we die? There are no logical answers to such questions and the answers that religions provide cannot be subjected to empirical proof. Has anyone ever seen heaven? Or does anyone know what Moksha feels like? The convoluted language and allegories that religious texts take shelter behind are really indicative of the confusion and uncertainty that prevails in this area. The unfortunate side effect of insistence on faith is religious dogma and exclusionist thinking. The conviction that ‘my way is the only way’ and that ‘my religion is the best and everyone has to conform to it’ has unfortunate consequences that we are all too familiar with.

Does it really matter whether you will go to heaven after a lifetime spent in conforming to archaic religious precepts? Does it really make a difference whether you will never be born again and that your soul will fuse with the Brahman after you die?

Is it not better to strive to be a better human being today through your own inner conviction? Is it not enough to be a good and spiritual human being without feeling it necessary to impose your beliefs on others? Surely spiritualism is all that a human being needs to have a good life himself as well as having a positive impact on others.

The Opium of the People

"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people" – Karl Marx

There is no doubt that religious sentiments and beliefs are becoming stronger and more polarised in today’s world. Whether it is militant Islam throughout the Middle East, Zionism in Israel, Buddhism in Sri Lanka or Hindutva in India, religious belief and dogma are becoming more and more significant. Strangely enough even as material prosperity increases almost universally mankind still seeks solace in the “opium of the people”.

Religion was invented to try to answer the basic questions of life that were not amenable to strictly logical thought. Why do we exist? and What happens to us after we die? Philosophical questions indeed. Worthy of examination by the keenest intellects. Unfortunately, answers to these questions even by the most erudite thinkers are full of circumlocution and obfuscation. The simple fact is that nobody knows the real answers to these questions. All inquiries are met with a dogmatic statement that “you need to have faith – mere logic will get you nowhere” The other unfortunate offshoot of this confusion is the creation of ritual. You need to pray 5 times a day facing in a particular direction in one religion while you need to pray to a particular god on Tuesdays for your wishes to be fulfilled in another! I ask you – can anything be more ridiculous? All this will get to Jannat, Nirvana, or Heaven – take your pick. The names differ but the premise is consistently absurd.

The real question is why is religion gaining ground? Marx has some pointers to the answer. The human condition, moral, spiritual and social is deteriorating. While we are better off materially our lives are becoming increasingly barren on all other parameters. We clutch at straws – the oily Hindu Godman or the wily Mullah who promises us salvation and a modicum of spiritual comfort in return for a ‘small’ consideration mainly in cash! We are like rabbits under the spell of the ferret who with his glistening greedy eyes is waiting to gobble us up.  

Strictly logical thought will not show you the way to heaven. But it will prevent you from acting irrationally. It will point you in the direction of ‘good’ behaviour, of being a rational human being with a mature and sensible outlook to your fellow men and society. In the ultimate analysis this is all we need. Religion and associated irrational behaviour needs to be curbed by society. By all means worship your gods in whatever fashion you want. But do it in the privacy of your own home and don’t let your behaviour impinge on others. Religion like opium is a pernicious social vice and if it has to be practiced let it be in within the four walls of your own space.

Nuclear Power and Bullet Trains

“We have to honestly and deeply reflect on the accident,” says Takafumi Anegawa, TEPCO’s managing executive officer, whose role is to shake up a utility he has accused of cozy relations with regulators and a cavalier attitude toward safety. “We should reset the level we pursue to the very highest. If we cannot achieve that level because of our capability or our culture, it means we are not qualified.” Akira Ono, the plant superintendent at Fukushima Daiichi, is equally blunt—at least in a Japanese ­context—about the need to reassess the nation’s nuclear future. “Because of the accident,” he says, “nuclear energy is an issue that should be discussed again in our country.”

“A Right to Information (RTI) query has recently revealed that 20,000 people died on Mumbai railway tracks in the past five years. That means over 4,000 people per year and, on an average, 10 people per day.”

India has a habit of ignoring reality. Many of us are so self-absorbed and egoistical that we tend to shut out sane and practical voices amongst us. One such unlikely personage is the mild mannered and scholarly Dr. Manmohan Singh, our former Prime Minister. He staked his reputation on opening up a ‘Nuclear Deal’ with the USA that effectively ended the nuclear apartheid that India had been subjected to:

“The framework for this agreement was a July 18, 2005, joint statement by then Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and then U.S. President George W. Bush, under which India agreed to separate its civil and military nuclear facilities and to place all its civil nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards and, in exchange, the United States agreed to work toward full civil nuclear cooperation with India.”

Let me hasten to clarify that I strongly believe that India has the right to nuclear weapons and nuclear power. The apartheid that India had been subjected to was wrong and discriminatory and in that sense Dr. Manmohan Singh did a signal service to the nation by forcing the door open. The issue is whether India has the technology, discipline, quality orientation and maintenance required for running nuclear plants. Accidents in the USA, USSR and now Japan have demonstrated that even developed economies find the vigilance required for managing nuclear assets difficult to come by. What chance does a country like India have when we find it difficult to even maintain roads, run an airline or keep a toilet clean? It’s a disaster waiting to happen. In the interests of public safety we need to re-evaluate whether we really need a nuclear energy programme. It may be far better to focus on fixing our coal supplies and getting power generation and distribution under control from our existing thermal plants rather than chasing the nuclear mirage.

In a similar vein, our current Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi seems to be obsessed with Bullet Trains. There is something undeniably attractive and symbolic about trains that could cut travel time from Mumbai to Delhi to 8 hours. It signifies a country that has arrived on the technological stage and sounds like a fitting gesture for the triumphant ruling party. However, the grim reality is that 4,000 people die every year on the Mumbai suburban rail network. A nation that ignores such a chilling statistic can hardly aspire for technological or moral superiority. Overcrowding, lack of toilets forcing slum dwellers to use the tracks as a bathroom, few over bridges – whatever the reasons, the number of fatalities are mind boggling. It is a shame that life is so cheap in our unfortunate country.

There is a tendency in India to always look at the brighter side of life. To ignore the grim reality today and yearn for a better tomorrow. It reflects in our tendency to create grand buildings, malls, airports and multiplexes and then forget that they need maintenance too. A Pakistani once said that while people from the two countries were quite similar, they were different in one aspect. He said that while both Indians and Pakistanis were lying in the gutter, the Pakistani had his head facing down in the filth while the Indian’s head was facing upwards looking at the stars!

A great attitude but it does need some practical back up.

A Refreshing Change

After a long time we have a Prime Minister or 'Pradhan Sevak' as he called himself who can actually communicate. Mr. Modi's skills as an orator were never in doubt after his election campaigns but he excelled himself at the Red Fort on Independence Day.

Mr. Manish Tewari of the Congress complains "it is unfortunate that the Prime Minister got bogged down in pedestrian issues without being able to rise to the occasion"

Unfortunately, Mr. Tewari, what are 'pedestrian issues' for you are in fact the most pressing issues for the country at large. Enough has been said about the PM's speech in the media and I do not intend to go over the same ground. I will restrict my comments to the issues that stood out from a common man's perspective.

What was refreshing was a national leader who took on the most serious of women's issues head on. As he correctly put it the nation needs to put a check on it's men folk, or 'boys' as Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav would call them. The fault for getting raped does not lie with women for heaven's sake! He was equally upfront about the abhorrent practice of female foeticide and our alarming sex ratio. I hope his strident message is driven home in the patriarchal heartlands of Haryana and other states where these practices are rampant.

Mr. Modi said that people may laugh when he talked about sanitation and toilets. He is only taking a leaf from the father of the nation who talked of little else! It is easy to snigger at such a discussion and that too from the ramparts of the Red Fort. I am very sure that those who do so have never faced the ignominy of their mother, sisters, wife or daughters having to use the 'world's biggest bathroom'. Apart from poor hygiene, they are at great risk of molestation and rape. The fact is that India has become a vast cess pool. Our towns and cities are filthy beyond description. Uncollected garbage lies around, roads are never swept and are full of encroachments. Our rivers have become sewers in which nothing can live as we dump untreated sewage in them from all our major cities.

The real issue which I think Mr. Modi recognizes very clearly is about practical and relevant social change. As a society our moral. ethical and social compass has gone awry. Traditional bonds of clan, family and fear of the law have loosened and there is a whole new generation that carries confused messages from the media, internet, bollywood, godmen and their own peer group. Harnessing the 'youth bulge' of India is challenging in any case and it was compounded by our weak kneed, senile and decrepit leadership that could not even begin to understand the 'New India'. Even today the likes of Mr. Tewari would like to hear grandiose pronouncements of intention rather than practical prescriptions for a New India.

As Ayn Rand put it so pithily:

“No principle ever filled anybody's milk bottle” 

― Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

Saraswati

Saraswati

This article does not contain any original research. It borrows freely from various sources that are acknowledged in individual footnotes. Raja Ravi Varma’s famous painting has been reproduced in several web sites. This version is also taken from the net and so is the Balinese painting at the end of the article.

Fact, fiction and speculation have a habit of blending together when one looks at ancient India. In this article I have put forward my point of view – it is not accepted historical dogma and neither is it original. It is speculative and interesting as it has many facets. Enjoy the read!

ámbitame nádītame dévitame sárasvati, "best mother, best river, best goddess" – Rig Veda

The Rig Veda is generally said to have been composed between 1700 – 1100 BCE[1] by the Aryans who are said to have invaded India from Central Asia around that time.

The Saraswati River is one of the main rivers described in the Rig Veda. It is mentioned several times while the Ganga is mentioned only once.

Geological evidence has established that the river that is understood to be the Saraswati dried up completely around 1900 BCE i.e. earlier than the date when the Rig Veda was composed and earlier than the date of the Aryan invasion.

Strange isn’t it?

Clearly, these dates and events don’t tie up. There are three possibilities:

1.    The Rig Veda was composed earlier than what is the generally accepted date.

2.    The date of the Saraswati’s drying up is more recent.

3.    The river understood to be the Saraswati today is not the river referred to in the Rig Veda.

In order to get a perspective on this conundrum, it is necessary to examine several interrelated facets.

1.    What are the facts about the Saraswati River?

2.    The Aryan invasion – Who really were the ‘Aryans?’ Did they actually exist at all?

3.    The Indus Valley civilization. Where and when?

4.    Rig Vedic rivers and cataclysmal geological events.

5.    When was the Rig Veda composed? How old is Indian civilization?

The commonly held belief today is that the Saraswati River originated in the Bandarpunch massif in Western Garhwal and flowed down through Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat into the Arabian Sea following a course roughly parallel to the Indus. The Sutlej and the Yamuna were tributaries to the Saraswati in those days (prior to 1900 BCE). The river has been identified as the Ghaggar Hakra River which is little more than a rain fed rivulet today near Chandigarh.[2] Around 1900 BCE[3] a series of earthquakes violently changed the topography of the river systems. The Sutlej turned west and eventually became a tributary of the Indus while the Yamuna turned eastwards and joined the Ganga at Allahabad. Gradually, the Saraswati dried up as the flow of water became progressively less. This cataclysmic event had huge repercussions on the development of Indian civilization as we will see below.

Civilization in India began with the Indus Valley civilization also referred to as the Harappan Civilization after one of the principal sites (now in Pakistan). The accepted dates for the civilization are 3300 BCE – 1300 BCE. The civilization was widespread with major sites being found on the Indus River as well as on the Saraswati. In fact the number of sites on the course of the Saraswati are actually far higher than the Indus. The civilization started declining around 1800BCE and by 1700BCE most of the cities had been abandoned. It was initially thought that the Indus Valley Civilization declined due to an invasion from the North West by the so called ‘Aryans’[4] However, that view has now been largely discredited. In fact the whole ‘Aryan Invasion’ theory has been questioned by a number of Indian historians. Maybe they did not exist at all! It may be that our colonial masters[5] thought it expedient to foster the illusion that Indian civilization was a western transplant courtesy the convenient Aryans![6]

What is more likely is that the drying up of the Saraswati and the change of climate (in prehistoric times the Indus valley was far more wet and verdant than it is today. The climate changed to more cool and dry, paving the way to a decline in agriculture and food availability). The inhabitants of these cities (at the peak, the Indus Valley civilization was estimated to have close to 5 Mn people) started migrating eastwards laying the foundation for the settlement of the Gangetic plain.

It is clear from the foregoing that the hymns about the Saraswati in the Rig Veda were therefore composed earlier than what is currently accepted as fact. They must have been composed before 1900 BCE as the river is described as a mighty stream with a lot of water. Who wrote them? And when were they actually written?

It is difficult to imagine that the people who lived on the banks of the Saraswati did not write about it. Instead the ‘Aryans’ arrived and composed the most evocative and emotional poetry after being rough nomads in Central Asia! This is really difficult to imagine. It’s far more likely that the Rig Veda was composed by the Indus Valley people themselves at a time when the bounteous rivers gave them a wealth of benefits. If we are to accept this thought, the date of the Rig Veda gets pushed back at least before 1900BCE. How far back is then the question?

Astronomical references in the Rig Veda[7] as well as correlation with the Puranic lists of kings point to an earlier date for the war described in the Mahabharat. In addition, there are a section of scholars who believe that the Saraswati dried up in two phases. Around 3000 BCE when the flow became insufficient to reach the sea and the river ended in a place referred to as Vinashsthan. Thereafter it dried up completely in 1900 BCE as mentioned above. Since the Rig Veda refers to the river flowing down to the sea it is postulated that the date of the composition is before 3000 BCE. Perhaps the original composition was around that time but was updated and embellished in later years with the astronomical references being kept intact. Suffice it to say that there is enough evidence to support the view that the Rig Veda was and other Vedic literature was composed well before the so called ‘Aryans’ made their mythical entrance into India.

One of the strange features of ancient Indian History as most of us have studied it is that there is a strange gap between the Indus Valley Civilization and the Vedic age[8]. It is almost as if there is no link at all between these civilizations. They were both highly developed and existed with a few centuries gap between them at best. The accepted view, of course, is that the Aryans conquered the people of the Indus valley and that the latter fled towards the South and the West. There is a more tenuous view that refers to them as the precursors to the Dravidian people of South India. The Aryans, after destroying the Indus valley civilization turned eastwards and it was they who settled the Gangetic plain. This view is also relies on the traditional historical view that there is very little in common between the Indus valley civilization and the Vedic age. In reality this is not true at all and there is considerable continuity between the two civilizations.

There are two aspects to this continuity[9], tangible and intangible. Tangible continuity exists in architecture, weights and measures (for which the Indus valley people were renowned) which survived with few modifications till the introduction of the metric system in the 20^th Century! The list is long. Finally the script. The Indus valley script is yet to be deciphered. It disappeared around 1800 BCE and it was only in the fifth century BCE that the first historical script, Brahmi emerged. Most scholars have said that Brahmi is derived from a Semitic script but there are intriguing discoveries in Bet Dwarka and Daimabad that point to an evolution and simplification of the Indus script that could be a transition to Brahmi. Secondly, intangible continuity exists in many forms. For instance the Swastika (held to be an ‘Aryan’ symbol) actually originated In Harappa. Lingas have been found in Harappa and other sites pointing to an early worship of Shiva. Fire worship is another area that holds even today. Yoga originated in the Indus valley.

As B.B. Lal puts it “Even today there is no walk of life in which we cannot discern the grass-roots features of this ancient (Harappan) civilization: be it agriculture, cooking habits, arts, crafts, games, ornaments, toiletry, religious practices or social stratification.”

The mystery of the lost Saraswati is an intriguing tale. Our history has been written by our colonial masters, the British, who obviously had their own motivations and limitations. While most of this article rests on speculative foundations there is considerable merit in focusing more on our own history. There is every possibility that ancient India holds many secrets and learning that has been lost along with the Goddess of learning – Saraswati.

Postscript

The Indus valley civilization had considerable trade with the civilizations of Mesopotamia and others in the Middle East. Indus valley seals have been found there and conversely evidence of trade has also been found in the Indus port of Lothal. Perhaps in keeping with the intangible nature of the Saraswati tale the fact that Balinese Hindus accord primacy of worship to Dewi Saraswati is an indicator that Indus Valley ideas spread even further than their tangible trade.

                                                               Dewi Saraswati – Bali

---

[1] Max Meuller and others quoted in Wikipedia.

[2] A contrary view is held by Rajesh Kochar who believes that the Rig Vedic Saraswati was actually the Helmand river of Southern Afghanistan.

[3] The Lost River – Michel Danino details these geological events.

[4] Sir Mortimer Wheeler propagated this view based on the discovery of 37 skeletons found in Mohenjodaro. However this theory has been largely discredited as of now.

[5] It was actually Max Meuller (a German) who first propagated the Aryan Invasion theory. It found many takers in the British Colonial administration.

[6] The ‘No Aryan Invasion theory’ is certainly not accepted fact. It has many detractors especially since there is a similarity between North Indian languages and those in Europe. There is also commonality between the Zend Avesta of the Zoarastrians and the Rig Veda. The traditional view is that the Aryans while migrating from their Central Asian homelands also went to Iran and Europe and thus there is a common root. The believers in the No Aryan Invasion theory feel that it is equally possible that language and traditions originated in India and travelled westwards not the other way around. It is also possible that language and traditions can travel even without a physical migration of people.

[7] Astronomical code of the Rig Veda – Subhash Kak

[8] Romilla Thapar has said that after the collapse of the Indus Valley civilization, ‘the material culture shows no continuities’

[9] The Lost River – Michel Danino