1 According to currently established chronology, it all started with the invasion of a so-called *Aryan Race *around 1500 B.C. The invaders, described to be light skinned tribes from central Asia, ruthlessly and forcefully subdued the original inhabitants, dark skinned Dravidian of the land. They proceeded to impose on the locals an alien language and culture. The invading hordes settled down on the banks of river *Sindhu *(Indus) and within few centuries (1200 B.C) compiled the *Vedas*. Subsequently the *Brahmanas, Samhitas, Puranas *and numerous other scriptures were composed. The inference is that the text of the *Rig Veda *was composed by them during the early stages of their presence in India, when they were still busy invading, conquering and establishing settlements all over the Punjab and the northwest, later to spread out all over northern India. Where does the Ramayana and the *Mahabharata *fit in? A probable date of 1000B.C to 300 B.C was allocated. This so called pre*-Aryan *civilization is said to be evidenced by the large urban ruins of what has since been called as “Indus Valley Civilization” The ruins of this early Indus Valley Civilization dated 3000 BCE are at *Harappa *and *Mohenjo-Daro*. A British archaeologist Wheeler was supposed to have been the first who forwarded the Aryan Invasion theory. Suggestions then existed which indicated that the Vedas were indeed composed by tribes, the so-called Aryans, outside of India!! They then brought the Vedas to India.
*Invasion Theory* 2 The date of invasion is quoted as 1500 B.C. How was this date arrived at? Well known scholars of the nineteenth century believed in Biblical chronology. According to this the date of creation of Earth is widely supported as 4000 B.C. The flood was dated around 2500 BC. Keeping these two dates the date for the Aryan Invasion was speculated at 1500 BC. Since the Indus valley culture was earlier than this, they concluded that it had to pre-Aryan. Western Indologists also made questionable interpretation of the *Rig Veda*, ignoring the sophisticated culture presented within it. In the end, the Vedic culture was said to be that of the primitive nomads who came out of central Asia. The hypothesis of an Aryan invasion was based the conflicts between the light skinned Aryans and the dark race of *“Dasyus” *described in the Vedic literature. This aspect is said to have been reinforced by the skeletal findings in the excavated sites in the Indus valley. Let us now examine how the facts line up. *Facts vs Speculations Literary Evidence* 3 For the Indo-Aryan invasion of India no direct evidence is available. Indian Vedic scholars like *Sri Dayanand Saraswathi *and Sri *Bala Gangadhar Tilak *rejected the Aryan Invasion theory based on literary analysis. If the invasion theory is correct, then it would call for concrete evidence regarding a) foreign lands b) Migration from foreign lands to India c) References to non-Aryan aboriginal inhabitants d) References to conflicts between the so-called Aryan invaders and the non-Aryan aboriginals A thorough examination by scholars like *Shrikant G. Talageri *revealed that the Rig Veda itself does not contain one single reference which provides the actual evidence in respect of any of the four points mentioned above. All conclusions have been arrived at based on inferential speculation. Not a single reference suggesting that an invasion occurred appears in the 10552 verses of the Rig Veda. Also, the Rig Veda does not contain any reference to any foreign place west of Afghanistan from where these invaders were supposed to have come. Once again, the Rig Veda contains no reference to people speaking non-Indo-European languages – which is what non-Aryan basically means. 4 Ambedkar arrives at the following conclusions, *1) *The Vedas do not know of any such race as the Aryan race. *2) *There is no evidence in the Vedas of any invasion of India by the Aryan race and its having conquered the *Dasas and Dasyus *supposed to be the natives of India. *3) *There is no evidence to show that the distinction between *Aryans, Dasas and Dasyus *was a racial distinction. *4) *The Vedas do not support the contention that the Aryans were different in colour from the *Dasas and Dasyus*. *Scientific Verification* 5 A number of statements and materials presented in ancient Vedic literature can be shown to agree with modern scientific findings. A number of archaeological findings and their analysis have brought the Aryan invasion theory in serious doubt. In fact, the Aryan invasion theory, as it is presented, raises a paradox. On the one hand we have a vast Vedic literature without any archaeological findings associated with them. And on the other hand, we have 2500 archaeological sites from Indus- Sarasvata civilization without any literature associated with them. As evidence started pouring in, it became more evident that the two cultures (that of the invader and the invaded) are one and the same. The paradox, then, ceases to exist. *Sarasvati Factor* 6 The largest concentration of Vedic culture appears in an area of Punjab and Rajasthan near the dry banks of ancient Saraswathi and Drishadvati rivers. The Vedic culture was said to have been founded between the banks of these two rivers. The mighty river Saraswathi was lauded as the main river in the Vedas. Vedic people were fully acquainted with this river and revered it. It was one of the largest rivers then. However, the river Saraswathi dried up. When did it dry up? Several independent studies indicate the period to be 1900 B.C.E. What sort of studies was conducted? Using modern scientific methods, such as satellite imagery and dating techniques, it can be shown that the ancient statements of the Vedas are factual, not mythical as erroneously propagated. High resolution satellite images have verified descriptions in The Rig Veda of the descent of the ancient Saraswathi River from its source in the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea. The Saraswathi River and its civilization are referred to in the Rig Veda more than fifty times, proving that the drying up of the Saraswathi River was subsequent to the origin of the Rig Veda, pushing this date of origin back into antiquity, casting further doubt on the imaginary date for the so-called Aryan Invasion. The significance of this date is that the composition of the Rig Veda must be well before that. 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