Who were the Harappans? How are they related to present-day Indians? Was there never an "Aryan Invasion"? The Sarasvati Civilization: A New Paradigm in Ancient Indian History brings together evidence from satellite imagery, geology, hydrodynamics, archaeology, epigraphy, textual hermeneutics, and DNA research to place together ancient Indian history in the light of new discoveries and facts which were simply not available to colonial historians of the 19th century and have been overlooked thereafter. At the heart of the ancient Indian Civilization was the mighty Sarasvati river which was in full flow 5000-6000 years ago. 60-80 % of the so-called Indus Valley Civilisation sites which have been discovered are not on the banks of the Indus but on the course of the Sarasvati. The drying-out of the river is the most significant factor in the history and migrations of the ancient Indians. With new evidence, the time has come for a significant paradigm shift in Indology. This book breaks new ground to lay the foundation for an authentic Indian history.

The Indian subcontinent was the scene of dramatic upheavals a few thousand years ago. The Northwest region entered an arid phase, and erosion coupled with tectonic events played havoc with river courses. One of them disappeared. Celebrated as -Sarasvati' in the Rig Veda and the Mahabharata, this river was rediscovered in the early nineteenth century through topographic explorations by British officials. Recently, geological and climatological studies have probed its evolution and disappearance, while satellite imagery has traced the river's buried courses and isotope analyses have dated ancient waters still stored under the Thar Desert. In the same Northwest, the subcontinent's first urban society"the Indus civilization"flourished and declined. But it was not watered by the Indus alone: since Aurel Stein's expedition in the 1940s, hundreds of Harappan sites have been identified in the now dry Sarasvati's basin. The rich Harappan legacy in technologies, arts and culture sowed the seeds of Indian civilization as we know it now. Drawing from recent research in a wide range of disciplines, this book discusses differing viewpoints and proposes a harmonious synthesis"a fascinating tale of exploration that brings to life the vital role the -lost river of the Indian desert' played before its waters gurgled to a stop.

This work is a continuum of Sarasvatī - River & Civilization (2020). A perspective is presented to explain how Ancient India became the richest nation on the globe as of 1 Common Era (pace Angus Maddison). The major focus is the contributions of Ancient Indian artisans and seafaring merchants (who called themselves Meluhha, mleccha) during the Tin-Bronze Revolution from ca. 5th millennium BCE. The continuum from Veda culture is demonstrated. A principal contribution made is in using Primary Sources from over 9000 Epigraphs of the Civilization, thanks to the successful decipherment of Indus Script.

The author puts forth convincing evidence to prove that the decline of Indus Valley cities was not due to the invasion of ?barbaric Aryans unsympathetic to civilization? but due to natural calamities such as floods desiccation and tectonic activity.A strong Aryan substratum was already present in the Indus Civilization during its early days,and continued to the last,leaving its indelible impression on the fabric of Indian culture.Tired of natural disasters the Harappans migrated to the Sarasvat (Ghaggar),Drishadvati (Chautang),Yamun? and Gang? valleys in the East and to Gujarat and Narmada valleys in the South.There they lived in small villages selling their skill to the local population and transformed the political and

This Book Is About The River Saraswati That Vanished More Than 2000 Years Ago. Written In Simple Language Shorn Of Technical Jargon, It Explores The Existence Of A Mighty, Snow-Fed River, Traces Its Course From The Foothills Of The Himalayas To The Shores Of The Arabian Sea And Outlines The History Of Human Settlements Along This River. It Finally Highlights The Geological Events That Overtook The Land Leading To The Disappearance Of The River That Was Once The Lifeline Of The People That Inhabited Its Floodplain. It Is Lavishly Illustrated In Both Colour And Black And White.

“Alice Albinia is the most extraordinary traveler of her generation. . . . A journey of astonishing confidence and courage.”—Rory Stewart One of the largest rivers in the world, the Indus rises in the Tibetan mountains and flows west across northern India and south through Pakistan. It has been worshipped as a god, used as a tool of imperial expansion, and today is the cement of Pakistan’s fractious union. Alice Albinia follows the river upstream, through two thousand miles of geography and back to a time five thousand years ago when a string of sophisticated cities grew on its banks. “This turbulent history, entwined with a superlative travel narrative” (The Guardian) leads us from the ruins of elaborate metropolises, to the bitter divisions of today. Like Rory Stewart’s The Places In Between, Empires of the Indus is an engrossing personal journey and a deeply moving portrait of a river and its people.