October 27, 2000 -- The Times of India News Service
 

Saffron touch given to Aryan, Harappan link

By Smita Gupta
 

NEW DELHI: In its catalogue for a new Harappan gallery, the National Museum has endorsed the controversial claim by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh that the Harappan and Vedic civilisations were one and the same.

Though the claim is important for Hindutva-oriented historians because it helps them to demonstrate the indigeneity of Hinduism vis-a-vis other religions like Islam and Christianity, there is still not enough linguistic or archaeological evidence to link the pastoral society of the Vedas with the urban Harappan civilisation. Indeed, respected historians such as Romila Thapar believe there is "a range of possibilities between the invader and the indigene theories'' and that "acculturation'' is the likely process by which the language and religion of the ancient Indians evolved.

Asked why the gallery catalogue was one-sided, museum director general RD Chaudhury said: "Some people are complaining, but I have just got a letter endorsing the exhibition.'' The letter, which Chaudhury cites as proof of the credibility of the catalogue, was from N.S. Rajaram who, along with N. Jha, co-authored The deciphered Indus script. The book - which claims a connection between the Rig Veda and Harappa on the basis of, inter alia, a fabricated horse seal - has recently been debunked by well-known Indologist Michael Witzel and comparative historian Steve Farmer. Indeed, noted historian R.S. Sharma, too, dismisses the claims made by Rajaram and Jha: "Neither of the two is a trained historian or archaeologist. They belong to the category of people who go by superstition and faith, not sound reason and logic.''

In his letter to Chaudhury, Rajaram complains about "the bitter campaign being waged by certain segments in the Indology establishment...to resist the identification of the Harappan civilisation as Vedic''. He says his critics "are particularly concerned that the National Museum and the Archaeological Survey of India appear to have accepted the Vedic basis of the Harappans''.

Adding yet another twist to the story is the fact that the coordinator of the exhibition and author of the controversial catalogue, Deo Prakash Sharma, also calls Rajaram a "fraud'' and says: "In the battle between the RSS historians/archaeologists and their Marxist counterparts, real scholarship is suffering.'

Then why does the catalogue say "The present author is also of the view that the early Harappan and early Vedic people were the same'', instead of presenting both sides?  Sharma explains this away by saying that while he disagrees with the RSS historians that the Harappans and the Vedic people were the same, unlike the Marxists, he believes they were contemporaries. He adds that by "early Harappan'', he means pre-Harappan, people who were rural - like the Vedic people - and not urban like the mature Harappans. Sources in the museum say the catalogue had another 26 pages which were excised by its editor - S.P. Gupta, who claims there was an 84-pillar temple below the Babri Masjid - since it "did not suit him ideologically''.

Interestingly, the exhibition itself tries hard to steer clear of controversy and has even received written praise from another ancient Indian historian, Shereen Ratnagar: "The new Harappan gallery...has been set up with professional skill and displays little saffron garbage, even if some sacred truths about continuity of religious practices still linger.''

For instance, while the map in the pamphlet and catalogue show the mythical river Saraswati and make references to the Indus-Saraswati civilisation, the map on display at the Harappan gallery only shows the river Ghaggar. Museum sources add that B.B. Lal, a former DG of the ASI - and also of the RSS school - had suggested the exhibition be called "Hamari Pracheen Sabhyatayen'' (Our ancient culture) or "The Indus-Saraswati civilisation'', suggestions which were apparently resisted. There was also an attempt to caption an exhibit of two skeletons "Sati burial'' rather than the value-free "Double burial'' now on display.