The question of which of us is Aryan is one of the most contentious in India today. In this eyeopening book, scholars and experts critically examine the Aryan issue by analysing history, genetics, early Vedic scriptures, archaeology and linguistics to test and challenge various hypotheses, myths, facts and theories that are currently in vogue.
Romila Thapar tackles the definition of the ‘Aryan’ in her inimitable style by tracing the
origins and progression of the ‘Aryans’ from old Iranian texts such as the Zend-Avesta,
archaeological excavations and colonial interpretations made by Max Müeller. She also
touches upon the following fields of enquiry: historiography, archaeology, linguistics,
comparative mythology, social anthropology and, more recently, genetics. Michael Witzel
investigates the origins of the early ‘Aryans’ within and outside India. Jaya Menon examines data from excavations of Harappan culture. Kai Friese lucidly explains the Rakhigarhi research which has been talked about a lot in the recent past and Razib Khan provides insights arising from research into genetics.
Romila Thapar is Emeritus Professor of History at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has been General President of the Indian History Congress. She is a Fellow of the British Academy and holds an Hon D.Lit. each from Calcutta University, Oxford University and the University of Chicago. She is an Honorary Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and SOAS, London. In 2008 Professor Thapar was awarded the prestigious Kluge Prize of the US Library of Congress, which honours lifetime achievement in studies such as history that are not covered by the Nobel Prize.
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