| Even today one
can see "Brahmins go home (to Central Asia)," painted on walls as political
propaganda in south India. Dravidians, the lower castes, and Muslims have all at times
identified themselves with the pre-Aryan indigenous people of India whom the invading
Aryans were supposed to have conquered and enslaved. Clearly several groups have part of their identify invested in the invasion
theory that would be disconcerting to lose. On the other hand, many of the founders of the
Indian independence movement like Tilak and Aurobindo wrote against the theory.
It appeared important to them in restoring Indian identity
to reestablish the credibility of ancient Indian civilization and its continuity.
Yet whatever one's social views, history should not be subject to them but should be
examined according to the facts. |
