Significance of finding Saraswati
- In History & Culture
- 11:50 PM, Nov 05, 2016
- Sagar Kinhekar
In the week gone by, Ministry of Water Resources, headed by Uma Bharti, made a significant announcement regarding Saraswati River of yore. It released a report on Palaeo Channel of North West India: Review & Assessment by Expert Committee. The Ministry had constituted a committee of experts some 6 months back to find the facts about ‘mythical’ Saraswati. This may not qualify as ‘breaking news material’ but is nevertheless a very important news. Here I explain why.
The report
The expert committee was formed around six months back which was headed by Prof. K.S. Valdiya, eminent Geologist, to examine the facts of Saraswati River which is supposed to have flown through present India and Pakistan border regions. The committee based its analysis on the study of the land texture of states of North-West India including- Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. It has also taken account of the geological changes that had occurred in the past.
The conclusion, as per Ministry’s announcement, has been reached upon that there was indeed a mighty River flowing through Haryana, Rajasthan and North Gujarat, land texture of which was studied by the panel. The study further asserts that a 2/3rd of the River, about 3000 km, existed inside the present day India and 1/3rd inside present day Pakistan.
In its report, the seven-member committee has stated that the river had two branches: western and eastern. The Himalayan-born Satluj “of the PAST”, which flowed through the channels of present-day Ghaggar-Patialiwali rivulets, represents the western branch of the ancient river.
On the other hand, it said, Markanda and Sarsuti (corruption of Saraswati) represented the western branch of Saraswati, known as Tons-Yamuna.
“During its six-month research period, the committee studied piles of sediments, their shapes and features which appeared to have been brought by a “big river” and are reminiscent to ones found in present-day Ghaggar, Ganga and Yamuna.
At some places, there is 30-ft deep sand layer (in the palaeochannels), at some places the width of the palaeochannels is five km and is filled with water.
This suggests that the relatively smaller rivers of today, like Ghaggar and its tributary Dangri, would not have brought such sediment. It must have been brought in by a big, flowing river,” as per committee.
The discovery
The committee did not really “discover” anything new. In fact, paleo channel theory or that of the sedimentation is not new at all. Around 20 years back, satellite pictures taken by ISRO and ONGC did show a dried river system. Similarly in 1995, BARC did a research of wells in the supposed dried river bed and found water which was around 4,400 years old! This study showed that the drying up of river had started around 3,700 BC back.
So if everything was already discovered then what was the need for such a committee? For this, one needs to look at the attempts of “left historians” to deny existence and / or location of Saraswati River. From Romila Thapar to Habib Tanvir to Rajesh Kochar, everyone had categorically denied any Saraswati River in India. They declared that attempts to prove a Saraswati was ultra-nationalist conspiracy! Please read my earlier article to know more about this. Even when all evidences were indicating to a large river system the historians kept denying existence of Saraswati. To assimilate all the evidence and confirm an official standing for India on Saraswati River was therefore necessary. Now the question is why was denying Saraswati so important for historians that they kept denying it even when evidences suggested otherwise.
Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT)
The AIT states that a race called Aryan invaded India and destroyed Indus civilization around 1800 BC. Now if existence of this Saraswati is accepted then AIT will face following logical fallacy –
- It is an undeniable fact that Vedas are Aryan books.
- Even oldest Veda, Rig Veda, mentions Saraswati as a mighty river.
- The River in the now-found river system had started drying up 3,700 BC
- If this river system was Saraswati then there is no chance that Aryans would have seen a mighty river flowing from Himalayas to Arabian sea in 1800 BC
- This means either the river system is not Saraswati or AIT is wrong.
Historians have not been able to provide a satisfactory alternate location for Saraswati, as I have explained in my earlier article. Accepting this as a river system will jeopardize the AIT which has been protected so long.
AIT is important for left liberal agenda as it preserves many fault lines of Hindu society like Arayans Vs Dravidian, Brahmins Vs Dalits, and Aborigines Vs Invaders etc.
Significance of Committee Findings
By adopting the findings of committee the Water Resources ministry has done a great service to the nation. The findings while must surely be beneficial from irrigation and water problem point of view, it is very important from the perspective of social fabric of India. If pursued properly, it can be a start of finish for AIT, once and for all. The social unrest which was built on the foundation of AIT will therefore become hollow. The government will do well to take this report to its logical conclusion and change the narrative on Aryan invasion theory, not just in the government records but also in academia.
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