The peopling of prehistoric and ancient India would have been a complicated and very gradual process involving a multitude of quasi-steps punctuated by possible events and with scattered founder effects. From a study of the sites of the Sarasvati River and surrounding cultures, the evolution of language in India and the current distribution of populations across the subcontinent, it is possible to arrive at a theory of civilization in South Asia.
Among the many artifacts discovered at the IVC (Indus Valley Civilization - Sarasvati Civilization) sites are numerous seals and structures with references to two symbols that are of prime importance in modern Hinduism, the lingam and the swastika. It is my contention that the IVC network may roughly be divided into two broad areas of influence on this basis: the first, the southern reaches populated by a people I term the Yadu, where the lingam and other allied objects of worship are predominant; the second the areas ruled by the Puru, where fire altars are predominant. The plan of the cities and layout of the municipalities follows this trend to the extent that it may be possible to distinguish the cities and towns of the Yadus from those of the Purus. Further, another people that followed the same culture as the people of the IVC but were nevertheless distinct -and may have held differing views on religion- may be identified, as well as other neolithic populations of the eastern and southern coastal areas of the subcontinent.
The basis for the division of these groups into their constituent tribes is the Rgvedic account of the Dasharajnya (Battle of the Ten Kings) , where King Sudas and his army defeat an alliance of Puru Kingdoms and the Yadu federation, who are in turn allied with the Ikshvaku. My hypothesis holds that the alliance that opposed Sudas was composed of vassals of the Purus, the Yadus and their allies the Ikshvaku, as well as Persian (ancient) tribes, while Sudas’ kingdom may itself be identified with the aforementioned Indo-Semitic people who -during the course of increasing urbanization and consolidation of power in the Sarasvati Valley- may have been involved in various small scale wars for control of the fertile plains of the Panjab (Per. 'panja ab', ultimately from Sanskrit 'pancha nadyah', for 'land of the five rivers', or 'panca apa', the 'five waters'), forming the northern periphery of the vast Indus network.
It should be noted that the Indus Valley Network by itself was the largest civilization in the ancient world, covering an area greater than ancient Egypt and Babylon put together; the many smaller continguous cultures that surrounded the IVC would have further extended its reach and sphere of influence to almost all of Northern, Central and Southern India, while trade contacts by sea and land with various ports in the Gulf (Dilmun), Mesopotamia, Egypt (and possibly Crete) were well established and maintained for at least 3000 years. Mehrgarh -established by 7000 BC- was one of the earliest urban centres in the world, predating pre-dynastic Egypt by a thousand years. The Sarasvati civilization may also have been the first to use wheeled transport and to have operated shipping lanes which would have necessitated massive docks such as the one at Lothal.
Further, the available archaeological evidence would suggest there was a continuity of culture and settlement from the earliest phases of civilization to planned urban economies operating well within the geographical boundaries of the Indian subcontinent with zero evidence of any migration from outside. Such evidence includes the planning and layout of cities along the Gangetic plains, which were very similar to Harappan cities; the extensive use of games of dice as a pastime in both the IVC and later cities that were established by Harappan migrants -and finds mention even in the epic of the Mahabharata; a common system of weights and measures (such as is used in rural India to this day), and so forth.
- Puru: The Puru peoples and their descendants make up the majority of the population of India, and may be identified with the ANI (Ancestral North Indians) and related groups. These may have worshipped an Indo-Iranian pantheon comprised of such gods as Mitra, Varuna, and Indra. Religious elements may have included fire-worship and fire-altars (as preserved by Namputhiri Brahmins of Kerala), and use of the swastika as a religious symbol would have been widespread. Their language may have been cognate with Rgvedic Sanskrit and Avestan, although it is my belief that the people that composed the Rgveda may not have been Purus or Yadus but the victors at the battle of the Dasharajnya, i.e. King Sudas and his commanders. The Puru tribes would have been spread out across the northern regions of the Sarasvati network, in modern-day NW and North Pakistan, Eastern Afghanistan and Rajasthan.
- Yadu: the Yadu are the second most numerous group in India, and may be identified with the (so-called) Dravidian peoples and related groups. These may have worshipped a multitude of gods and religious elements would have included extensive phallus-worship and phallus-altars (lingams) as well as obeisance to warrior gods. (Ahmuvan of the IVC or Murugan of the Tamils) Their language may have been an early form of the Dravidian language. Physically, some such peoples may have adopted melanid features as a means of coping with the tropical clime, and these may have been in general taller than the Purus, with sharper features and dark skin.These tribes would have been spread out across the southern regions of the Indus Valley Civilization, into the coastal and surrounding areas of South Pakistan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. Linguistically, culturally, and perhaps even physically, there appear to have been similarities between the Yadu (Dravidian) and Sumerian civilizations (the languages are agglutinative and seem to share some vocabulary in common, and are both linguistic isolates, i.e. they are neither Indo-Iranian, Semitic, nor African; some common architectural styles and motifs, etc)
These two major peoples would have coexisted along the Sarasvati network for thousands of years, starting perhaps with the Mehrgarh settlement or even during a pre-Mehrgarh period that is yet to be discovered, during which time significant cross-cultural, linguistic, and religious flow would have taken place, laying the foundations for what was to become India. The existence of parallel religious concepts and deities among both cultures (e.g. rgvedic Puru Skanda\Karthikeya = Yadu or Dravidian Velan\Murugan, Devi = Amman et cetera) as well as the substratum of Dravidian loanwords in Sanskrit may be traced back to this period. It is conceivable that Sanskrit as spoken by the Puru peoples at this stage developed the aspirants (the dental aspirants th, dh etc) and adopted distinctly Yadu sounds (the retroflex t, d, l and r, which exist in Sanskrit but not in sister languages such as Avestan), while the Yadu language in turn may have dropped several proto-Dravidian sounds that mostly exist in vestigial form in modern day descendants of the Yadu language (retroflex r, the lateral flap zh in Tamizh) , as well as adopting Puru features (distinction between voiced and devoiced consonants, aspirants, the labio-dental fricative ph or f) .
- Indo-Semitics: A third category of people in ancient India are a people I would label the Indo-Semitics. These Indo-Semitics are identifiable with a section of non-Indo-European Iranians, Arabs and Judaist peoples (Semitic) and share typically noticeable physical and phenotypical traits and features with them. (Such as prominent nasal bridges\nose, etc) It is my belief that it was an early Indo-Semitic tribe ruled by a King Sudas that fought the Puru-Yadu alliance at the Dasharajnya, and were victorious in what was ultimately a battle of attrition. They may have been restricted to the northern reaches of the Sarasvati valley, and were possibly settled in parts of the Panjab and Afghanistan. It is possible that descendants of these early Indo-Semitics form the base populations of modern day Punjabis, Rajasthanis, Sindhis and Afghans, among others. There is also a very strong Indo-Semitic substratum among the brahmins that originate from Western India (Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat) as well as among some Tamil and Telugu Brahmin populations.
It is my belief that Indo-Semitic literature was predominantly composed in a rural setting, which may account for the 'pastoral' themes that occur in some parts of the Rgveda (the importance of which was overblown and exaggerated by romantic colonial notions of the 19th century that tended to view the entire world from a Eurocentric -more specifically Germanic or Teutonic- standpoint, perhaps with the memory of settled-vs-nomadic conflict still fresh in the western European collective consciousness). As noted above, the Sarasvati network would have been less a large empire or single coherent state ruled by emperors or kings than a vast network of urban centres that dotted a rural landscape. It is entirely possible, therefore, that hunting and foraging would have supplemented agriculture as a source of food production in the rural areas.
The drying up of the Sarasvati and the droughts that followed would have prompted large scale migration out of the IVC, although over a period spread out over hundreds of years. The northern Purus gradually settled east of their Sarasvati homelands, into and along the Gangetic plains, identifiable with the Ochre Coloured Pottery Culture, while the southern Yadus would have spread throughout sub-Vindhyan lands, i.e. the central plateau and along the river banks of the Godavari and Krishna, identifiable with the numerous scattered IVC sites found as far south as Tamil Nadu.
- The Austro-Asiatics: during this migration and settling of the rest of India, the Purus and Yadus may have come into contact with Neolithic populations in the subcontinent, who were speakers of Austro-Asiatic languages (such as Munda and proto-Munda) and may have themselves settled India in waves beginning 60000 b.p. (before present) Small groups of settled Australoid populations in Southern India and Sri Lanka may also be grouped with the Austro-Asiatics. It is possible that features and loanwords from their languages were adopted into the Yadu and Puru languages, especially in such areas as South India and Bengal, and were gradually assimilated into the Indian fold. It is likely that some such tribes preferred isolation to assimilation and are the ancestors of the existing Indian Scheduled Tribes or the Adivasi, some of whom have retained their traditions, culture, and language. Religious elements may have included forms of animist worship (worship of tree deities, river deities etc), and it is possible that several elements of the Austro-Asiatic religion (use of flowers and leaves as ritualistic offerings, veneration of nature, shamanism) were absorbed into Hinduism early in India’s history. Cannibalism may also have been practiced by the Australian component of the Austro-Asiatic tribes, and such tribes may be identified with the Rakshasa clan of Indian mythology.
Genetics
For distribution maps of mtDNA and Y haplogroups in the Indian Subcontinent, refer to the Human Genographic Project, or to the relevant literature. In sum, the genetic evidence strongly supports the argument presented here, with the four major haplogroups correspondingly to the IE (Indo-European/ 'Puru', under the current classification scheme), Dr (Dravidian/ 'Yadu', under the current classification scheme), AA (Austro-Asiatic), NG (Negroid), and ST (Sino-Tibetan) ethnicities.
Broadly speaking, the Purus were cousins of other ancient Indo-Iranian peoples, such as the Persians, the Parthians, the Hittites, et al. The Yadus may have splintered away from a common supergroup that included such ethnic groups as the Sumerians (as distinct from later Akkadians, Assyrians, Mesopotamians and Babylonians, who were of Semitic origin), ancient Egyptians, and Cretans. The Indo-Semitics were related to the Semitic Phoenicians, the Judaics, various Arab ethnic groups, and Central Asians.
Broadly speaking, the Purus were cousins of other ancient Indo-Iranian peoples, such as the Persians, the Parthians, the Hittites, et al. The Yadus may have splintered away from a common supergroup that included such ethnic groups as the Sumerians (as distinct from later Akkadians, Assyrians, Mesopotamians and Babylonians, who were of Semitic origin), ancient Egyptians, and Cretans. The Indo-Semitics were related to the Semitic Phoenicians, the Judaics, various Arab ethnic groups, and Central Asians.
There are, however, two points to take particular note of -
1) The findings show considerable overlap among modern Indian populations, suggesting an early admixture event followed by relative isolation thereafter. Isolated Indian tribal communities that have lived in forests for centuries may, for instance, still share large portions of their genetic material and share common lineages with other groups. The admixture would have taken place during the settlement of Puru and Yadu peoples in India proper.
2) The differentiation of maternal lineages of most Indian populations is shorter than that of paternal lineages, and the earliest common ancestor of not just the Indian haplogroups, but of other, broader strains may have originated in India.
It is also worth noting that the two chief haplogroups of India -R and M- are also found in isolated populations across the Middle-East, the Levant, Crete, Egypt, and Iran, thus indicating their widespread prevalence in antiquity before the genetic intrusion of non-Indian strains at a much later date.
Migrations
Numerous clashes between the encroaching Indo-Semitic tribes, the existing Puru-Yadu cities, and their allies, may have lead to widespread and gradual depopulation of the Sarasvati network, a breakdown of trade and commerce, and political instability. The desettlement of Indus cities may have taken the form of large-scale migration out of the Sapta-Sindhu region into -a) the East, by land, eventually causing displacement of chalcolithic and neolithic cultures in Rajasthan, Punjab, and eastern Uttar Pradesh and the eventual settlement of the Gangetic plains; b) the South, into northern Karnataka, colonizing first the fertile areas by the Godavari and Krishna basins, and later reaching the Kaveri lowlands; c) the West, into Iran; c) by sea, settling in widely dispersed pockets (colonies) in the Mesopotamian region, Arabia, and the island of Sri Lanka.
The plains of the Ganga and the Kaveri were to become the nuclei of the Puru (later Vedic, 'Puranic' or 'Upanishadic') and Yadu ('Dravida' or ''Tamizh') civilizations, respectively. There is literary evidence to suggest these lowlands may have once been populated by the Austro-Asiatic tribes, who were pushed into resettling the highlands. References to raids and 'attacks' by these 'Highlander' tribes are found in both northern and southern literature, for over a thousand years after settlement. The history and civilization of these peoples is well-documented, and therefore of little interest to us.
The migration due West, however, would have encountered difficult terrain, left with the choice of continuing their migration until reaching a river valley, or abandoning agriculture in favour of hunter-gathering or pastoralism. Due to geographic constraints, this wave may have had to split into northern and southern branches, each moving past the Iranian plateau in search of greener hinterland.
The Southern Branch: the Southern branch may have reached the Tigris-Euphrates network and encountered the cities of early Sumeria, opting either to coexist under the suzerainty of the Sumero-Dravidian rulers, or establishing kingdoms of their own, such as the Mitanni, and the Hatti, who emerged as strong regional powers in the Middle-East shortly thereafter. That the culture and religion of the Mitanni was distinctly Indian rather than Indo-Iranian attests to the fact that these were migrants out of India, not remnants of a mythical 'Aryan' wave from the Caucasus.
The Northern Branch: it is my view that the Northern Branch of this migratory wave temporarily settled the arid regions in the north of Iran, later moving into the region between the Caspian and Black seas (Caucasus), whence further sub-groups split up and moved in different directions. Most of Iran and the Caucasus is cold, arid, and unsuited for agriculture or settlement, but lends itself well to a pastoral lifestyle. The various peoples of the Northern Branch may have thus shifted to pastoralism and semi-nomadism during this period, amalgamating into a single, pan-Iranid culture and evolving an identity distinct from that of their homelands in the Indus Valley. The semi-nomadic nature of this culture would have necessitated a dynamic migratory pattern, with groups splitting away from the main and finding their own way forward being a common occurrence. Sub-groups breaking away from the Caucasus settlements may have entered what is today Eastern Europe, while southern branches may have entered the Mediterranean region, encountering the Semitic peoples settled in the Aegean and Balkan regions.
The Alina: the Alina were one such tribe, settling those islands of the warm Mediterranean that were uninhabited by the Semitics or Sumero-Dravidians. It is possible they lent their name to the Alinas that later emerged as a powerful confederation of kingdoms in this region, corrupting the name 'Alina' to 'Hellene', the Greek name for Hellenic cultures. Although semi-barbaric and devoid of any culture of their own, contact with the pre-Hellenic Semitic kingdoms may have resulted in a spread of civilization among the Alina.
The Druhyus: among the tribes that were defeated at the Dasharajnya are the Druhyu, a people identified by some historians as the Druids of the Celtic peoples of Europe. The Celtic religion and society closely resembled ancient Indian societal stratification, and their rituals (termed 'pagan' in Europe) are closely connected with those that would have been practiced by the Purus in the IVC. (existence of priestly and warrior classes among the Celts; similar festivals and deities in Celtic mythology, etc) Further, the remarkable similarity between the figures depicted upon the Gundestrup Cauldron and the so-called Pashupati seal from the IVC suggests there may indeed have been a link between the Druhyus and the Celts. Considering all the evidence available, the theory that the Druhyus were a Celtic Sarasvati tribe from India that were driven out after the Battle of the Ten Kings and may have later settled in parts of pre-Roman Europe seems entirely plausible, although irrelevant to the history of India.
Such a theory also tallies well with the dates of first settlement along the Indus-Iran-Anatolia axis, with evidence of Indo-Iranian kingdoms such as those of the Mitanni in Anatolia-Syria -whose kings and deities were unmistakably of Indian origin (Varuna, Indra, Mitra; Artatama, Tushrata, Vasishtha)- springing up in quick succession across the Indus- Anatolia axis within a few centuries of the theorized migration out of the Indus valley and due west into Iran.
--BRK (R Bhargav).
