Guest guest Posted October 2, 2004 Report Share Posted October 2, 2004 THIS IS ALL I COULD FIND ON BBC'S WEBSITE ON THE AIT. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/history/history5.sht ml Controversy The 'traditional' view of Hindu history, as described in this section, has been challenged by modern scholars. In particular, various scholars have advanced the following theories: Hindu religion pre-dated 3000BCE 'Aryan', a Sanskrit word meaning 'noble', does not refer to an invading race at all The Aryans did not invade but migrated gradually The Aryans were native to the area, or found there long before the alleged invasion Hinduism originated solely in India There is ongoing controversy over which version of Hindu history is the correct one. indicjournalists, "N.S. Rajaram" <nsrajaram@v...> wrote: > This is what I received on another egroup. Sorry there is no URL. > Perhaps someone can help. > > NSR > > The Aryan Invasion Theory > > One of the most controversial ideas about Hindu history is the Aryan > invasion theory. > > This theory, originally devised by F. Max Muller in 1848, traces the > history of Hinduism to the invasion of India's indigenous people by > lighter skinned Aryans around 1500 BCE. > > The theory was reinforced by other research over the next 120 years, > and became the accepted history of Hinduism, not only in the West but in > India. > > There is now ample evidence to show that Muller, and those who > followed him, were wrong. > > Why is the theory no longer accepted? > > The Aryan invasion theory was based on archaeological, linguistic > and ethnological evidence. > > Later research has either discredited this evidence, or provided new > evidence that combined with the earlier evidence makes other > explanations more likely. > > Modern historians of the area no longer believe that such invasions > had such great influence on Indian history. It's now generally accepted > that Indian history shows a continuity of progress from the earliest > times to today. > > The changes brought to India by other cultures are not denied by > modern historians, but they are no longer thought to be a major ingredient > in the development of Hinduism. > > > Dangers of the theory > The Aryan invasion theory denies the Indian origin of India's > predominant culture, but gives the credit for Indian culture to > invaders from elsewhere. > > It even teaches that some of the most revered books of Hindu > scripture are not actually Indian, and it devalues India's culture by > portraying it as less ancient than it actually is. > > The theory was not just wrong, it included unacceptably racist > ideas: > > * it suggested that Indian culture was not a culture in its own > right, but a synthesis of elements from other cultures > > * it implied that Hinduism was not an authentically Indian > religion but the result of cultural imperialism > > * it suggested that Indian culture was static, and only changed > under outside influences > > * it suggested that the dark-skinned Dravidian people of the South > of India had got their faith from light-skinned Aryan invaders > > * it implied that indigenous people were incapable of creatively > developing their faith > > * it suggested that indigenous peoples could only acquire new > religious and cultural ideas from other races, by invasion or other > processes > > * it accepted that race was a biologically based concept (rather > than, at least in part, a social construct) that provided a sensible > way of ranking people in a hierarchy, which provided a partial basis for > the caste system > > * it provided a basis for racism in the Imperial context by > suggesting that the peoples of Northern India were descended from > invaders from Europe and so racially closer to the British Raj > > * it gave a historical precedent to justify the role and status of > the British Raj, who could argue that they were transforming India > for the better in the same way that the Aryans had done thousands of > years earlier > > * it downgraded the intellectual status of India and its people by > giving a falsely late date to elements of Indian science and culture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.