Aryan Invasion Theory
Scholars and people in general are fighting over for century to explain and justify the cause of decline of the Indus valley civilization and ascertain the identity of the Vedic people. From flood to famine to environmental destruction to migration to de urbanisation all factors are taken into account but one theory that co times to hold attention despite next to no evidence for its support is the Aryan invasion theory
This is one theory which was propounded by scholars that a group of tribal people known as Aryan attacked Harappan cities and triggered the migration of people though it has been accepted now that Aryans didn’t attack Harappan cities. They migrated to Indian subcontinent in waves and interacted with Harappans culturally.
Aryan Invasion Theory informed and then supported Mortimer Wheeler's assessment of the locations. The Aryans were already recognised as the writers of the Vedas and other works, but their arrival in the region was too late to support the notion that they created the spectacular cities; nonetheless, they may have destroyed them. Wheeler, was aware of the Aryan Invasion Theory and interpreted what he discovered as confirming it; in doing so, he verified the theory, which consequently acquired increasing popularity and acceptance.
Western scholars had been translating and interpreting the Vedic literature of India for over 200 years by the time Wheeler was excavating the sites and, in that time, came to develop the theory that the subcontinent was at some point conquered by a light-skinned race known as Aryans who established high culture throughout the land. This theory developed slowly and, at first, innocently through the publication of a work by the Anglo-Welsh philologist Sir William Jones (l. 1746-1794 CE) in 1786 CE. Jones, an avid reader of Sanskrit, noted that there were remarkable similarities between it and European languages and claimed there had to be a common source for all of them; he called this source Proto-Indo-European.
Later Western scholars, trying to identify Jones' “common source”, concluded that a light-skinned race from the north – somewhere around Europe – had conquered the lands south, notably India, establishing culture and spreading their language and customs, even though nothing, objectively, supported this view. A French elitist writer named Joseph Arthur de Gobineau (l. 1816-1882 CE) popularized this view in his work An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races in 1855 CE and asserted that superior, light-skinned, races had “Aryan blood” and were naturally disposed to rule over lesser races.
Gobineau's book was admired by the German composer Richard Wagner (l. 1813-1883 CE) whose British-born son-in-law, Houston Stewart Chamberlain (l. 1855-1927 CE) further popularized these views in his work which would eventually influence Adolf Hitler and the architect of the Nazi ideology, Alfred Rosenberg (l. 1893-1946 CE). These racialist views were given further validity by a German philologist and scholar who did not share them, Max Muller (l. 1823-1900 CE), the so-called “author” of the Aryan Invasion Theory who insisted, in all of his work, that Aryan had to do with a linguistic difference and had nothing at all to do with ethnicity.
It hardly mattered what Muller said, however, because, by the time Wheeler was excavating the sites in the 1940s CE, people had been breathing in these theories with the air of the times for well over 50 years. It would be decades more before the majority of scholars, writers, and academics would begin to recognize that 'Aryan' originally referred to a class of people – having nothing to do with race – and, in the words of the archaeologist J. P. Mallory, “as an ethnic designation the word [Aryan] is most properly limited to the Indo-Iranians” (Farrokh, 17). The early Iranians self-identified as Aryan meaning “noble” or “free” or “civilized” and the term continued in use for over 2000 years until it was corrupted by European racists to serve their own agenda.
Wheeler's interpretation of the sites was informed by and then validated the Aryan Invasion Theory. The Aryans were already recognized as the authors of the Vedas and other works but their dates in the region were too late to support the claim that they had built the impressive cities; perhaps, though, they had destroyed them. Wheeler was, of course, as aware of the Aryan Invasion Theory as any other archaeologist at the time and, through this lens, interpreted what he found as supporting it; in doing so, he validated the theory which then gained greater popularity and acceptance.
The Aryan Invasion Theory, though still cited and advanced by those with a racialist agenda, lost credence in the 1960s CE through the work, primarily, of the American archaeologist George F. Dales who reviewed Wheeler's interpretations, visited the sites, and found no evidence to support it. The skeletons Wheeler had interpreted as dying a violent death in battle showed no such signs nor did the cities exhibit any damage associated with war.
Further, there was no evidence of any kind of mobilization of a great army of the north nor of any conquest c. 1900 BCE in India. The Persians – the only ethnicity self-identifying as Aryan – were themselves a minority on the Iranian Plateau between c. 1900 - c. 1500 BCE and in no position to mount an invasion of any kind. It was therefore suggested that the “Aryan Invasion” was actually most likely a migration of Indo-Iranians who merged peacefully with the indigenous people of India, intermarried, and were assimilated into the culture.
As excavations of the sites of the Indus Valley Civilization continue, more information will no doubt contribute to a better understanding of its history and development. Recognition of the culture's vast accomplishments and high level of technology and sophistication has been increasingly coming to light and gaining greater attention. Scholar Jeffrey D. Long expresses the general sentiment, writing, “there is much fascination with this civilization because of its high level of technological advancement” (198). Already, the Indus Valley Civilization is referenced as one of the three greatest of antiquity alongside Egypt and Mesopotamia, and future excavations will almost surely elevate its standing even higher.
The Aryan Invasion Theory was debunked in the 1960s CE by the work of American archaeologist George F. Dales, who evaluated Wheeler's interpretations, visited the sites, and discovered no evidence to support it. Wheeler's interpretation of skeletons dying brutal deaths in battle revealed no such indicators, nor did the towns display any signs of war damage. Furthermore, there was no indication of any form of mobilisation of a massive army from the north, nor of any conquest. As a result, it was proposed that the "Aryan Invasion" was most likely a movement of Indo-Iranians who peacefully integrated with the indigenous people of India, intermarried, and were incorporated into the culture.