Michel Danino

A wide range of factors has been invoked to explain the decline and disappearance of the urban phase of the Indus or Harappan civilization. Earlier theories based on invasions or man-made conflicts have been increasingly discarded; on the other hand, there has been growing evidence and acceptance that climatic and environmental factors played a significant role.
While climatic studies from the 1970s to 1990s tended to support the view that a marked trend towards aridity had set in even before the urban or Mature Harappan phase (2600–1900 BCE), more recent studies have pushed this shift to the end of the third millennium BCE. This is also the time when, in the eastern domain of the Harappan civilization, the Sarasvati dwindled to a minor seasonal river, while floods appear to have been caused by a shifting Indus in the west. Other possible causes include the pressure put on remaining forests by intensive industrial activities. In any case, the archaeological evidence records the abandonment of Harappan sites in the Sarasvati’s central basin, and a migration of Late Harappan settlements: north-eastward towards the foot of the Shivalik Hills, eastward across the Yamuna, possibly too westward towards the Indus plains and southward towards the Vindhyas.
This paper attempts to correlate archaeological evidence with sedimentological, palynological and other palaeoclimatic studies and suggests a few possible conclusions and lines of further exploration.

A hitherto neglected component of Harappan town‐planning is the systematic use of specific proportions in the dimensions of major structures as well as fortified enclosures. While a few dimensions have been occasionally noted—especially at Dholavira—many have escaped notice. More importantly, the implications of this non‐utilitarian feature in terms of cognitive archaeology have not been explored. This paper summarizes the evidence and attempts to excavate the Harappan mind so as to make sense of this use of proportions and give it its place in the evolution of Indian architecture.

A system of linear units had been earlier proposed for Dholavira's elaborate town-planning and the specific proportions for its successive enclosures. This paper discusses objections to the proposed system, and presents fresh evidence on the accuracy of the published dimensions of Dholavira's fortifications. It then interprets new data about the city's reservoirs in terms of the proposed linear units.

In the Rig-Veda, the Sarasvati is both a goddess and a river—a “mighty” river “flowing from the mountain to the sea”, and the only one to be deified in the Vedic hymns. Yet it disappeared in the post-Vedic era—the only major river to do so in northwest India. As it did, Sarasvati, the goddess of speech, knowledge and the arts, grew in stature and became one of the fountainheads of India’s classical civilization.
But there is another side to the story, which began in 1855 with the identification of the river’s dry bed, currently named Ghaggar–Hakra. From the 1940s, archaeological explorations initiated by Marc Aurel Stein have unearthed hundreds of Harappan sites in the Sarasvati’s basin (the Yamuna–Sutlej interfluve). Recent satellite, climatic, geological and river studies have completed the picture, confirming in particular a connection between the disappearance of the Sarasvati in its central basin and the break-up of the Indus–Sarasvati civilization.

The presence or absence of the horse in the Indus-Sarasvati civilization has long been a matter of debate, especially in the context of the Aryan invasion theory. The argument is familiar: the Rig-Veda uses the word ashva over 200 times, ergo the Vedic society must have been full of horses, ergo the Harappan civilization, from which the noble animal is conspicuously absent, must be pre-Vedic and non-Aryan. The horse must therefore have been brought into India around 1500 BCE by the invading Aryans, who used its speed to crushing advantage in order to subdue the native, ox-driven populations. However, on closer scrutiny, there are serious flaws at every step of the argument — and indeed several concealed steps. This paper first examines the physical evidence of the horse from various Harappan sites, both in terms of skeletal remains and depictions, before turning to problems of methodology that have compounded the confusion, in particular the double-edged use of negative evidence, and the persisting colonial misreadings of the Rig-Veda.

In India the race discourse was distorted in the nineteenth century by pseudo-scientific anthropological classifications of Indian populations. Long lists of fictitious races filled academic publications -- and sometimes continue to be taught today, even though the race concept collapsed long ago. In the last two decades, population genetics has emerged as a powerful tool of inquiry into prehistoric migrations, and several studies conducted by multinational teams have cast a fresh look at India’s huge genetic diversity. Most have concluded that genetic connections between North India and Europe are much more ancient than the proposed dates for the Aryan invasion / migration, and failed to note a major addition to India’s gene pool in the second millennium BCE. Other important conclusions, such as a genetic continuum between Indian castes and tribes, are bound to radically alter our understanding of Indian populations. This paper presents a summary of recent findings in the field.

The recent find of a stone axe in Sembiyan-Kandiyur bearing signs that look like Indus signs has brought fresh attention to the question of a relationship between Harappan and Tamil cultures and languages, and in particular to the theory that the Harappan language might have been proto-Dravidian. However, the issue often tends to be oversimplified owing to faulty methodology. For instance, in view of Harappan contacts with Dilmun, Mesopotamia or Margiana, exchanges with South India are quite likely and have long been suspected; this could explain a few instances of Harappan script in the South — the presence of the script tells us nothing about its authorship. Also, if some communities did adopt a Harappan-like script, they may have used it to write their own language, not the Harappan language — script and language are distinct issues. Further, the absence of any Harappan artefacts and features south of the Vindhyas as well as recent findings on the Central Indian origin of Brahui,...

This paper, the first draft of a work in progress, attempts till the close of the 19th century to collate in chronological order what several disciplines — archaeology, epigraphy and history in particular — have contributed to our knowledge of the ancient city of Ayodhya, allowing important stages and events to unfold before our eyes. It sets a proper background to the Ram Janmabhumi – Babri Masjid controversy.

The article analyzes the reasons for the neglect of India's knowledge traditions (especially as regards ancient science and technologies) and argues that the proliferation of exaggerated claims and misinterpretations is partly due to a void created by the denial of such traditions by mainstream scholars, historians included.

First Dr. Govind Chandra Pande Memorial Lecture. India’s past scientific and technological advances have been well documented, even if mainstream history of science is yet to take full notice of it. What is generally overlooked, however, is the cultural framework within which those advances took place. Because Indian savants were steeped in specific cultural concepts involving a quest for infinity, the equivalence of microcosm and macrocosm, and a certain cosmic order, we find these concepts reflected in mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, medicine and architecture, and giving Indian developments in these disciplines a specific stamp.

Numerous systems of units were developed in India for lengths, angles, areas, volumes, time or weights. They exhibit common features and a continuity sometimes running from Harappa to Bhaskaracharya, but also an evolution in time and considerable regional variations. This paper presents an overview of some issues in Indian metrology, especially with regard to units of length and weight, some of which are traceable all the way to the Indus-Sarasvati civilization. It discusses, among others, the angula and its multiple variations, and the value of yojana and its impact on calculations for the circumference of the Earth.

Espérant pouvoir observer le transit de Vénus en 1761, l’astronome français Guillaume Joseph Hyacinthe Jean-Baptiste Le Gentil de la Galaisière, mieux connu sous le nom de Le Gentil, s’embarque pour l’île Maurice puis, de là, pour Pondichéry. Bloqué en pleine mer, il ne peut se livrer à des observations satisfaisantes, et décide de demeurer dans ces contrées jusqu’au prochain transit, huit ans plus tard. Il débarque à Pondichéry en 1768, mais un temps soudain nuageux réduira ses préparatifs à néant. Brisé, il entreprendra un retour difficile en France. En
fin de compte, ce sont ses observations aiguisées et remarquablement impartiales sur la culture locale et sur l’astronomie indienne qui se sont avérées précieuses, ces dernières étant à l’origine d’une longue controverse quant à la précision et l’antiquité de la tradition astronomique de l’Inde.

Executive Summary for a 2005 survey of over 11,000 students from all over India and across diverse types of schools and mediums, which provides first-hand feedback from the students as regards the cultural and value content of the curriculum (Standards 9-12) and other aspects of the educational system. The students’ voice came out clearly in favour of: (1) integrating Indian culture in the curriculum; (2) reducing the syllabus; (3) evolving a less mechanical, more stimulating and practical-oriented pedagogy; (4) improving the quality of the teacher; (5) reducing the book load as well as examinations. In other words, the Survey has not merely brought out the students’ widespread dissatisfaction with the education they receive, but has resulted in positive and valuable suggestions, which could help formulate a better, more fulfilling educational system.

Few attempts, if any, to reform in India’s school system have involved the students themselves. This 2005 survey of over 11,000 students from all over India and across diverse types of schools and mediums, provides first-hand feedback from the students as regards the cultural and value content of the curriculum (Standards 9-12) and other aspects of the educational system. The students’ voice came out clearly in favour of: (1) integrating Indian culture in the curriculum; (2) reducing the syllabus; (3) evolving a less mechanical, more stimulating and practical-oriented pedagogy; (4) improving the quality of the teacher; (5) reducing the book load as well as examinations. In other words, the Survey has not merely brought out the students’ widespread dissatisfaction with the education they receive, but has resulted in positive and valuable suggestions, which could help formulate a better, more fulfilling educational system.

India’s past scientific and technological advances have been well documented, yet mainstream history of science is yet to take full notice of them. Besides, India’s scientific community remains largely unaware of India’s contributions to the field, rightly distrustful of exaggerated claims, but doing little to promote genuine research in Indian history of science. Using the best scholarship available in the field, this educational module offers an overview of scientific achievements in India from earliest times to the seventeenth century, with a focus on mathematics, astronomy and chemistry. It will also highlight some specific aspects of Indian scientific developments and their interaction with other cultures.

Ancient India developed great skills in a number of technologies, transforming stone, extracting metals, planning and constructing cities and developing sophisticated water structures. Together with those, gem and textile technologies ensured a flourishing economy for many centuries. While some of those traditional technologies have survived (through craft traditions, for instance), others — especially dealing with agriculture and irrigation — are being rediscovered. This lecture presents an overview of past achievements, based on recent research.

In the Rig-Veda, the Sarasvati is both a goddess and a river—a “mighty” river “flowing from the mountain to the sea”, and the only one to be deified in the Vedic hymns. Yet it disappeared in the post-Vedic era—the only major river to do so in northwest India. As it did, Sarasvati, the goddess of speech, knowledge and the arts, grew in stature and became one of the fountainheads of India’s classical civilization. This presentation traces the riddle of the Sarasvati’s disappearance and the story of its rediscovery, beginning in the first half of the 19th century and involving numerous surveyors, topographers, geographers, Indologists and geologists. The result of these researches will be the identification of the now seasonal Ghaggar–Hakra (in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Cholistan) as the relic of the Vedic river. In the 1940s, when archaeological explorations unearthed hundreds of Harappan sites in the Sarasvati’s basin (the Yamuna–Sutlej interfluve). Recent satellite, climatic, geological and river studies have completed the picture, confirming in particular a connection between the disappearance of the Sarasvati in its central basin and the break-up of the Indus–Sarasvati civilization, with important implications on the dating of the Vedic era.