Author: NS Rajaram
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: August 25, 2000
Of late the air has been
rent by cries of `saffronisation' by eminent historians who, until recently
used to monopolise the history establishment.
The most recent example
of this is the complaint launched by some JNU professors over what they
claim to be the `saffronisation' of archaeology following the discovery
of demolished Jain, and possibly Hindu, temples in excavations at Fatehpur
Sikri. This, of course, raises serious questions about the secular
credentials of Akbar and other Moghul rulers, which is anathema to our
secularist historians. But what is increasingly becoming apparent is the
dismal record of these scholars during their decades of monopoly of influential
institutions like the ICHR. This makes their cry of `saffronisation'
look suspiciously like a diversionary tactic meant to draw attention away
from their own failure as historians, while significant progress was being
made by less heralded scholars outside the establishment.
The last 20 years have
witnessed momentous advances in our understanding of ancient Indian history.
Beginning with US Wakanakar's discovery of the Vedic river Sarasvati, it
culminated in the decipherment of the famed Harappan script by N Jha, with
whom this writer collaborated, leading to the book The Deciphered Indus
Script containing deciphered readings of nearly two thousand seals.
This period also witnessed the Vedic-Puranic synthesis effected by the
gifted young linguist and historian Shrikant Talageri. This was accompanied
by Seidenberg's discovery showing that Vedic Mathematics was the source
of both Babylonian and Egyptian mathematics. We are now on the threshold
of revolutionary changes in our understanding of ancient India and even
the world. Curiously, the key figures in this revolution N Jha, KD
Sethna, David Frawley, A Seidenberg, Shrikant Talageri are not members
of the history establishment. In contrast the `eminent historians'
of the ICHR and other institutions have little to show and have been content
to rehash the Colonial-Marxist model of ancient India.
Recently, the ICHR brought
out a volume called Sourcebook of Indian Civilisation edited by Niharranjan
Roy, BD Chattopadhyaya, Ranbir Chakravarti and VR Mani. This volume,
twenty years in the making, should have been an authoritative reference
work. Yet, even a cursory examination shows that it is not useful
for any serious student. Instead of primary sources, the Sourcebook is
made up of nothing more than excerpts of English translations made largely
in the last century. Another book, supported by the establishment scholars
The Vedic People: Their history and geography by Rajesh Kochhar makes Afghanistan
the seat of all ancient Indian works, notably the Rigveda, the Ramayana
and the Mahabharata. The absurdity of this claim can be made manifest
by noting that the Rigveda is full of references to oceans and ships.
There are numerous verses praying for the safety of ships and passengers
bound on ocean voyages. The image of the ocean is the most common
poetic device used by the Vedic poets. The famous creation hymn known
as the Nasadiya Sukta of the Rigveda describes the time of creation as
Darkness concealed in darkness, the whole universe was like an ocean without
light. To say that such poetry was composed in landlocked Afghanistan
is like making Switzerland a great naval power.
These scholars have little
notion of either the language or the contents of primary sources.
It seems that the only time one hears of them is when there is a scandal
or when they are involved in a political exercise. In contrast scholars
like Jha or Talageri have received media notice only because of their fundamental
contributions. These eminent historians have got away only because
they had a monopoly over establishment institutions. But, following
changes in the establishment, their true worth as scholars is being exposed.
So they resort to a diversionary tactic and the cry of saffronisation.
