 |
| The Hindu Phenomenon |
|
A UNIQUE PHENOMENON |
|
|
|
|
| First,
at the heart of the Aryan-Dravidian theory lies the Western
scholarly definition of distinct speech communities in
Central Asia, accepted by them as the nursery of races and nations.
On their own findings, however, these distinct communities
are not all that distinct after all. Indeed, they could not be, in
view of their close proximity, on the reckoning of Western scholars
themselves. Secondly, if northern Iran and Afghanistan are
recognized to be parts of Central Asia, as they are, it is logical
to extend the definition to include the northern-western part of
India now Pakistan. That would give Vedic Sanskrit, or a possible
earlier version of it, the status it may well deserve, but has been
denied.
It is in any case beyond dispute that there arose in South Asia a civilization so homogeneous that it is difficult to locate a tradition, or a folklore, in any locality in South Asia in any Indian language which is not related to a similar tradition or folklore in other parts of the land in other languages. In fact, there is a remarkable continuity between classical traditions, widely regarded as the handiwork of the upper strata, especially Brahmins, and folklore, which, on the other hand, is said to be the creation of ordinary people. Again, there is no local or folk tradition which is not found in the Sanskritic-Brahminic tradition.
|
|
|
|
