The Building of the Indian Nation

  Part II of my Book

One of the most reliable sources of Ancient History and in particular Indian history is provided by the writings of foreign travellers and chroniclers. Most of their writings, in context to India in drafting the current History have been left by historians as, exaggerations or full of lies. The place of honour is secured by Herodotus (454-425 BC), who was called “the father of history”. He knew of Indians as the eastern most and the most numerous of the people inhabiting the empire of the Persian emperor, Darius I. They paid him the huge annual tributes of three hundred and sixty talents gold dust, he also knew Indians outside Persian Empire. He was also found unreliable in some respect, and his accounts of gold digging ants to the size of dogs in India were the most talked about. His total writing and accounts are also not taken into account as been seen as been led away from truth. Ktesias (416-398 BC) a physician in the court of the Persian emperor, had every opportunity to know the facts about India but his accounts were also left as full of lies and exaggeration. The accounts of other dependable writers as Nearchus the Alexander’s Admiral, who wrote a dependable account of the voyage from the Indus to the Persian, the original of which is no longer available, but the extracts, have been preserved for posterity in Arrian’s Indica. Onesicritus the master pilot of Nearchus, his account of Alexander campaigns, also does not exists in its’ original form, and was found highly exaggerated. Aristobulus another companion of Alexander who was also a good geographer, and Kleitarchus another Alexander companion were all left alone as unreliable or full of exaggeration.

The Himalayas constitute a formidable crescent shaped barrier separating Sinkiang and Tibet from India along its wide northern frontier and containing the highest mountain peaks in the world. Himalayan the highest mountain-system in the world extends practically uninterrupted for a distance of over 2500 Kms and covers an Area of about 500,000 sq. Kms. The Himalayan range includes Everest and some ten peaks rising above 7,500 meters. They are framed in immemorial legend, and Hindu literature as the abode of Gods and Sages, the home of Parwati- the throne of her consort (Mount Kailash) adjoining one of the holiest tirthas (religious place of worship), Lake Mansarovar, and the source of innumerable life giving rivers of India including the river Ganga, the holiest of them all. 

The passes across the Himalayas are few, very elevated, and precarious, and all of them strike into the elevated tableland of Tibet, also known as the “roof of the World.” The outer range of the Siwaliks, a more recent formation of broken and disintegrated hills that form a barrier the first step upwards to the planes. The Himalayas are continued by the Hindu Kush, and its offshoots in the west and the Lushai hills on the east, provide the rugged, elevated and formidable barrier in the north separating it from the rest of the world.  Below the Hind Kush stretch of narrow irregular border districts of Pathan Highlands, a country all mountainous, a land full of wild tribes, and the chief passes between Afghanistan and India. This formidable natural fortification and barrier made it extremely difficult for Alexander companion to travel and traveller’s to enter the heartland of Ancient Bharat, i.e. India. 

 The two mighty rivers, the Sindhu in the north-west and Brahmaputra in the east, garland the Himalayas at either end of their length of over 2500 Kms. The Brahmaputra and its confluent, with their potentialities for the cultivation of Tea, coffee and fruits, dominate the northern eastern frontier, where live the numerous sub-Himalayan tribes.

 The North- west is the key to India proper and too much of her history. It is continuous on the south with the vast plain of Hindustan, the Aryavarta (i.e. the home of Aryans) of Manu (the first man as per Hindu mythology).  In Kashmir are contained the great reservoir’s of water supply that irrigates the flat plains of Punjab. Kashmir was from earlier times an influential centre of Hindu culture, was the home of Sanskrit scholars and poets.

Bharat, i.e. India is bounded on the Southwest by Arabian Sea and on the south east by the Bay of Bengal. On the north, north-east and north-west lie the Himalayan Ranges. The Indian Ocean washes the southern tip, Kanayakumari. Arawalli range in the north- western India is one of the oldest mountain systems of the world. The present Aravalli range is only a remnant of the gigantic system that existed in the prehistoric times with several of its summits rising above the snow line. Patkai and allied mountain range run along the Indo-Bangladesh-Burma border and may collectively be called Purvanchal or eastern mountains. The entire major landforms, hills, mountains, and land surface has developed into plateau character, with a large portion of land falling in this category. There are extensive plains either flat or rolling at levels ranging from 300 to 900 meters, dotted with conical or rounded hills or traversed by flat-topped ridges.   

There are over 60 languages spoken in India and an equal amount of culture, tribes, races and society in existence. How such a large portion of population existed only in India and not in any other part of the world, is a matter of mystery, and if we believe in the current History, it becomes more confusing and illogical. It is an accepted fact that the Hindu cultures, religion and civilisation is the oldest and has influenced most parts of Asia. It is also an accepted fact that the trace of human life is oldest in Asia. As per the writing, India was a land of riches, which attracted the people throughout the world. The fact is that the approach of Indian sub-continent was the most difficult, and hence beyond reach for most people and races. The Indian climate is also humid and hot, and not conducive for work and health. Considering other parts of Asia and the large area of plain grass lands, water sources and minerals found in other parts of Asia, it becomes more illogical for so many races of primitive man, to cross all the difficult barriers and come into India. It is also beyond explanations, why different races of primitive man did not explore and settle into the abundant vast plain lands of Europe and Central Asia. Moreover as per geographical excavations the rich plains of Ganges were low lying fertile land which were prone to floods and water logging and made life difficult. Several cities and cultures and cities therein were washed out due to heavy flow of water from Himalayas, as is revealed by historians.

The word Aryan or Arya in Sanskrit means persons “of good family”. The Gazetteer of India an amended version of the Imperial Gazetteer of India (published by Britishers) states that Airyan in Zend language also means the same. I do not have any knowledge of this language hence am not in a position to comment on it.  Civilisation and classes of people have named themselves in their own language. I do not find anywhere in the History the trace of spreading of the ancient Zend language and culture throughout the world, and its further development as a role in civilisation or culture of any region, in any significant way as compared to Sanskrit or Hindu culture.

  A close study of all-old civilisations and culture from pre-historic times reveals that culture, socio-political organisation, prosper, grow and spread from the region of their origin i.e. the mother land. There is no evidence or precedence in the history except that of “Aryans”, wherein a cult of people came from other region, settled in a far away land in another part of the world, made it as their homeland and then developed the worlds richest culture. It is also surprising how historians believed that the ancient Aryans, who developed the Sanskrit language much later as printed in History, named their race as Aryan in Sanskrit thereafter. The first culturally rich and prosperous civilisation that spread through out Asian peninsula and also Central Asia was that of the Hindu culture and civilisation.

There is no evidence or inscription anywhere in the history, which proves that our ancestors moved from Central Asia to India, which was named by the Aryans as Bharat as printed in History and our mythology.

The Ancient Bharat, which included Afghanistan and Pakistan, is known and referred in the Hindu Granths as Deva Bhumi (i.e. the land of Gods). The mythologies also reveal the special affinity of Deva’s to this Holy Land of Bharat.  The Mythologies and its script also state a healthy relationship between the Asuras (Demons) and the Deva (God), and marriage’s between them. Various Indian mythologies also state how Hindu women’s gave birth to Deva’s children.  It is further mentioned that at the time of writing of Veda only Deva and Asuras existed.  It further goes to state, that their were long battles’ between Asuras and Deva’s, and that both of them worshipped the Mahadevas, i.e. the Devas, Deva (God). These give our theory further strength, that Devas were not gods, but godly people of their time, which worshiped Mahadevas and Aadi Shakti, Maa.

            History states the existences of various tribes in and around the elevated tableland of Tibet, commonly known as the “roof of the World”, and the trace of oldest civilisation in the adjacent plains of Himalayas. In prominence the Mongolian tribes situated on the North-eastern and western side of Himalayas. It is also relevant to mention herewith that these ancient civilisations had many things in common. The Chinese, people believed and studied Astronomy and astrology, made calendar and followed it as per lunar cycles, loved and treated their King as a son of God, like Hindu’s as mentioned in Veda. Indian kings also represented themselves as the representative of the Hindu God Vishnu and performed their Raja Dharma as per the Hindu religions and followings. Nepal the only Hindu Ratra (nation), still treat their King as a son of Vishnu, the Hindu god who is known as the palankarta (the one which looks after every day needs).    It is also relevant to mention here-in that, the Chinese and the Indian knew about the metals, compounds and it chemistry most and applied it in modern use and it is from this part of the world that this knowledge was carried though out the world. If we study the Ancient culture of China and India we find many things in common, including the first to make cloths, silk cloths and fine printings and its dyes. History reveals that all these races were later influenced by Hindu religion and Hinduism the way of life, and worshipped Hindu Gods or Saints (Buddha).

The excavation at Harappa and Mohenjodaro in Indus valley point to a well developed knowledge of metallurgy of copper and bronze in about 2500 B.C. Indian steel was highly valued all over the ancient world and was exported in large quantities. A Chinese traveller has written about the Brahmin possessing a liquid (probably acid) capable of dissolving most substances.

 Our ancestors named their race as Aryans, “meaning thereby a good family”. The legendary Uttarakurus of the far north were a model of Arcadian society of godly men who were the first Vis’ i.e. tribes of Aryans. It is perhaps from this Vis, from where some the early Aryans started their exploration of Asia and their journey to Central Asia and beyond. The love and preference of living in the cold icy atmosphere of Himalayas by Devas, is reflected by the spread of Aryans to find cold places, further North and North West from India, into Europe and Central, North and North East Asia. The finding of the Swastik symbol and other Aryans signs, culture and society in these parts, all gives an impression of the primitive Aryans and Devas, adaptation to the cold atmosphere and also an impression that Aryans were a race which was near to the Deva race, in matter of physical features, habits and structure, hence were called a good family.  It further gives an impression that our Ancestors used various methods of reproduction in a bid to find a better race, or family and left others as separate tribes to develop and live their own life, with support and help from them. Each tribe in the beginning had its own culture way of living and worship. Each tribe worshipped its own Deva. There is a tradition in the Hindu culture to worship our ancestors and the same is followed as of today. However as per Hindu mythology, the riches of knowledge were shared more with the Aryans than with other tribes.

In some passages (Sloakes) of Rig Veda, the Mahabharat and the Pali canon there are references to a casteless millennium of equality, plenty and piety- this was supposed to have existed in some remote, unrecorded antiquity.

In the golden age of Krta or StayaYuga there was only one caste of Deva (gods) or Brahman. The concept of Vis or tribe came late, and the early tribal fathers (prajapati) were known by their mothers’ name viz., Aditi, Diti, Danu, Kadru, Vinata etc, as per Rg-Veda and the first canto of Mahabharat. These original mothers were supposed to be the sources of mankind. There were different Vis situated in different parts of India, mostly in the plain situated near the great Himalayas and all were matriarchal. The one-caste society of the Krta age is mythised version of tribal herd bound by ties of kinship and tribal discipline. Men were governed by tribal rules of hunting and war. How and when the mother was set aside and the patriarchal system replaced the matriarchal is not known, and later on the conception and legacy of ‘Sakti’ or the Cosmic mother, was born. We the Hindus still pay the highest respect to ‘Sakti’ and our mother and worship goddess in its various avatars. Mother’s place is considered the most auspicious place in Hindu society, we worship the same and name it by various names and one such name is Janani (the provider of life). When the Vis and Janas become accustomed to the environment and the human evolution was complete, the Aryans with the help of Devas began to unify them and bind them into one homogenous group.