Western scholars have argued that Indian civilization must have been the joint product of an invading 'Indo-European' people - the 'Indo-Aryans' - and indigenous non-Indo-European peoples. Although Indian scholars have consistently and vehemently rejected this European reconstruction of their country's history, Western scholarship has given little heed to their arguments. This book is a study of how various Indian scholars, over the course of a century or more, have rejected the idea of an external origin of the Indo Aryans by questioning the very logic, assumptions and methods upon which the theory is based. In the process, Bryant presents a complete exposition and analysis of views from within mainstream academic circles addressing the issue of Indo-Aryan origins.
Review quote:
A must get for libraries and must read for interested scholars. (Religious Studies Review)
[Byrant] does an extraordinary job of showing the ambiguity and uncertainty of both linguistic and archeological evidence for either a migration or indigenous presence of "Ayrans" in India. (Religious Studies Review)
... a groundbreaking book. Byrant wades into the highly contested debut about whether or not there was a migration by "Aryans" into the south Asian subcontinent. (Religious Studies Review)
Scholars of South Asia in general will find this work extremely informative. It will serve to bring us up-to-date regarding the data and theories about prehistoric South Asia that are found in our, by now, mostly outdated handbooks. (The Journal of Asian Studies)
Well-written ... a detailed and valuable review of the history of the debate ... we should all greatly appreciate Bryant's intellectual effort in presenting all aspects of the debate. (Times Higher Education Supplement)
Western scholars have argued that Indian civilization must have been the joint product of an invading 'Indo-European' people - the 'Indo-Aryans' - and indigenous non-Indo-European peoples. Although Indian scholars have consistently and vehemently rejected this European reconstruction of their country's history, Western scholarship has given little heed to their arguments. This book is a study of how various Indian scholars, over the course of a century or more, have rejected the idea of an external origin of the Indo Aryans by questioning the very logic, assumptions and methods upon which the theory is based. In the process, Bryant presents a complete exposition and analysis of views from within mainstream academic circles addressing the issue of Indo-Aryan origins.
Review quote:
A must get for libraries and must read for interested scholars. (Religious Studies Review)
[Byrant] does an extraordinary job of showing the ambiguity and uncertainty of both linguistic and archeological evidence for either a migration or indigenous presence of "Ayrans" in India. (Religious Studies Review)
... a groundbreaking book. Byrant wades into the highly contested debut about whether or not there was a migration by "Aryans" into the south Asian subcontinent. (Religious Studies Review)
Scholars of South Asia in general will find this work extremely informative. It will serve to bring us up-to-date regarding the data and theories about prehistoric South Asia that are found in our, by now, mostly outdated handbooks. (The Journal of Asian Studies)
Well-written ... a detailed and valuable review of the history of the debate ... we should all greatly appreciate Bryant's intellectual effort in presenting all aspects of the debate. (Times Higher Education Supplement)
Western scholars have argued that Indian civilization must have been the joint product of an invading 'Indo-European' people - the 'Indo-Aryans' - and indigenous non-Indo-European peoples. Although Indian scholars have consistently and vehemently rejected this European reconstruction of their country's history, Western scholarship has given little heed to their arguments. This book is a study of how various Indian scholars, over the course of a century or more, have rejected the idea of an external origin of the Indo Aryans by questioning the very logic, assumptions and methods upon which the theory is based. In the process, Bryant presents a complete exposition and analysis of views from within mainstream academic circles addressing the issue of Indo-Aryan origins.