Fwd: [Ind-Arch] Sarasvati revival in Haryana

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[ind-Arch] Sarasvati revival in HaryanaIndiaArchaeology

 

 

 

 

Outllook India article cross posted from HinduCivilization. Thanks to saurav_basu2007 " When the BJP-led NDA government launched a project to revive theancient—some say mythical—river Saraswati in 2002, it attracted much

flak for wasting public money in an attempt to rewrite history. Butsix years later the Saraswati project has sprung back—this time withthe blessings of the Haryana government, now run by the Congress whichwas once critical of it. And collaborating closely with the state

government is Darshan Lal Jain, president of Haryana-based SaraswatiNadi Shodh Sansthan (SNSS) and RSS state president till 2007.Last month, Haryana's irrigation department finished digging up anddemarcating 52 km of what it claims is the ancient river's course in

Kurukshetra. " Saraswati is a sacred river of great importance, " saysstate irrigation minister Captain Ajay Singh Yadav. " Satellite imageshave shown its course runs along with the Ghuggar river. Our goal is

to develop it as a proper river. " The department even organised anational seminar last month—where Jain shared the dais with Yadav—onSaraswati's revival. The reasons behind the project are twofold:recharge plummeting groundwater levels and develop religious tourism

around the river's course in Haryana. Ground water levels have touchedas low as 150 feet here. Therefore, unlike many brick-lined canals,the walls of the new river's course would be left untouched to allow

water to permeate into the ground and recharge nearby water levels.The 'spiritual' and electoral benefits of the project could beenormous in Haryana, where the river is often described as the " poor

man's Ganga " . " The river exists for us here. All people want is itsrevival and proper upkeep. Even the state government did not doubt itsexistence. All they asked us was how its revival would benefit the

state, " says Jain. The official acknowledgement from the governmentwith a plan to revive the Saraswati has encouraged groups like SNSSand the Chennai-based Saraswati Research Centre, who have beencampaigning to revive the river they claim once flowed a thousand

years ago from Mansarovar to the Rann of Kutch.The evidence presented to the state include Survey of India maps,British-era revenue records with the river's course, satellite imagesshowing existence of palaeochannels (dried beds of ancient rivers) and

geological proof of an ancient Himalayan river flowing southwestthrough Haryana. " We found very angular dense minerals found in theHimalayas from riverbed soil samples in Haryana. Since they are sharpit means they were carried in suspension by a turbulent volume of

water, " says A.R. Chaudhri, professor of geology at KurukshetraUniversity. Subsequently, Vedic references to the river's locationswere mapped to show how they correspond with the satellite images ofthe river course.

Denying any knowledge of D.L. Jain's link with the RSS, Yadav says theriver's revival is not driven just by Jain or the RSS. " There are manyothers who have been campaigning for its revival. We are working on it

only because we are convinced of the benefits, " he clarifies. Jain,says his goal is to see the Saraswati flow, at least across Haryana,before his death. With a cooperative government at the state, thatdream is apparently closer to reality than ever. "

posted by M. Kelkar