The Aryan Invasion: Who Are We?

       A lot has been said on this subject since British era, but the reality is still unknown. Do we Indians really come from a distinct culture of so called "Aryans?" Or are we the descendants of prehistoric native Indians? This confusion has led to a lot of linguistic and genealogical research putting forth a lot of ideas and food for thought.
       It was noticed by some European travelers who visited India in 16th century that there is a striking similarity between Indian languages and Latin and Greek. When India was under British rule, many experts began researching this similarity between languages and came up with an idea that European and Indian languages descend from a historical language which is now called "Proto-Indo-European" (PIE) language. Sanskrit (mother of most of the north Indian languages) and Latin (mother of many European languages) are found to be very close to each other. Certain words including those for relations, agriculture, etc. must have been in abundant use since ancient era and they are traced back to have a common root in PIE.

Migration of Aryans from their origin to Europe and Asia

       Also, some excavations in Central Asia discovered the peculiar rituals practiced by ancients who lived there around 3000-2000 BCE. Similar rituals were seen to be practiced in the north-western region of India in the times slightly later. Many other evidences suggest a steady West-to-East migration first in Indus Valley and then in Ganges plain. The Vedic religion in ancient India shares many of its aspects with old religion of Persia or Iran. Also, the deities of Vedic people, ancient Persians, ancient Greeks and Roman civilization seem to be close to each other in their descriptions. Many of the religious symbols including the ill-famed Swastika were shared across the land of Eurasia by Aryans. Does this mean that Hindus are descendants of another race from a far land? It is said that some of the Aryans may have migrated into India around 1400-1500 BC and helped establish Vedic culture here. This culture had many different aspects than earlier Indian cultures like Indus Valley Civilization. These new aspects might have been introduced by influential foreign rulers from a separate culture, i.e., Central Asian or Aryan.

Swastika - now a stigmatized symbol in
Western world was possibly very
important in Proto-Indo-European culture

        Genetic evidences suggest that the genes in Y-chromosome (which is inherited by a son from his father) found in India show some links to those in Western Asia and Europe. These genes of North Indians who are thought to be Aryan descendants differ a bit from those of South Indians who are considered to come from Dravidian race. This might mean that there was an influx of particularly western males in North Indian plains. Today's Indian populations seems to be a mixture of genes from both of these races as some new evidences suggest lack of enough differentiation between south and north Indian populations. However, when the caste divide in India was genetically analyzed, it was found that those who are considered from upper caste carry genes which are less distant to Western Asians and Europeans than that in the case of lower caste population.    

         The Aryan philosophy of pure gene had been considered foul after World War II when lots of non-Aryans especially Semitic people were brutally killed in Nazi Germany under the scheme of eugenic policies in the favor of Aryans. Thus, the divide is being wiped away slowly under the modern anti-racist and humanitarian philosophy. But this means that the question of Aryan Invasion of India is also going slowly out of consideration. New genetic studies have started a controversy as they suggest North and South Indians have similar genetic patterns. Although the later claim is started to gain favor, the big question is: will we ever know who we are?

The Credibility of Ramayana

           There has been a lot of fuss about this argument since long. But then a couple of years ago Sri Lanka was seen making tourism advertisements where they showcased some places which according to them were where some incidences from Ramayana took place. This outrageous exploit immediately instigated a thought in me... Do people really think it happened?

            I do not wish to deliberately invade the popular belief of all those orthodox Hindus, but what sane mind would believe that a man can have ten heads. Now they would say, he was not a man... he was a Rakshasa. What are Rakshasas really? They looked like men in all sense as per the tales. They satisfy all the criteria to be classified as men. The most possible explanation would be that they were a dark skinned race of humans. They must have been looked upon as lowly by the famous Aryan attitude of ancient North Indians. Or they must be imaginary.

            Again, it has always been told that the epic was written by Valmiki, himself a character in the tale. Now, why should one believe that this information is true when there are doubts on the credibility of the story itself? Do we even know whether any such person existed at all? Just because a book mentions that it was written by some John Smith doesn't prove that it was, especially when it is thousands of years old and possibly has undergone many modifications across generations. Some evidences suggest that the poem was composed through centuries.

            There are several other "flavors" of Ramayana... where the story is modified as per the community's own interests. For example, there is a Jain version of Ramayana that says Laxman was the one who killed Ravana and then Ram became a follower of Jainism. If such modifications are possible within centuries or possibly millennia, the credibility is obviously lost that the epic was composed by one person and it is an account of history. Above all, the epic never mentioned that it indeed is an account of what happened. It never gave an illusion of Ram being a God. He is mentioned everywhere in the story as a normal human being who always tried to be an ideal person, committed his fair share of mistakes in his life, did all humanly things possible. But now you would see around that big temples are devoted to him. People spend months tracing his journey across India just to gain his favor and to wash their sins away. Don't they understand that tracing a route in a story is not going to bring them any good? And don't they know that this time can be utilized for something productive which would indeed prove beneficial? Are they cleared of sins once they get their ablutions from Rama's sacred ponds?

            I don't prove a point here, nor am I trying to. It is just that somewhere down in my heart I feel uneasy looking at people who would not contemplate, but thoughtlessly believe that some story happened just because their parents told them so. There is no search for evidence before devoting to a God. There is no thought given before deciding to worship a God to verify that he is really a God and he was meant to be. Absolutely, the epic showcases a great diversity of characters, their thoughts, their meaning of life and their journey of life. And surely, Ram is a character with devotion, love and trust that no human can possibly be like. But still, the sad and ironic part is that a story is not being interpreted as it should be by the oldest culture known for its sensibility and sensuality.