WHICH OF US ARE ARYANS?:RETHINKING THE CONCEPT OF O UR ORIGINS

The question of which of us is Aryan is one of the most contentious in India today. In this eyeopening book scholars and experts critically examine the Aryan issue by analysing history genetics early Vedic scriptures archaeology and linguistics to test and challenge various hypotheses myths facts and theories that are currently in vogue. Romila Thapar tackles the definition of the ‘Aryan’ in her inimitable style by tracing the origins and progression of the ‘Aryans’ from old Iranian texts such as the Zend-Avesta archaeological excavations and colonial interpretations made by Max Müeller. She also touches upon the following fields of enquiry: historiography archaeology linguistics comparative mythology social anthropology and more recently genetics. Michael Witzel investigates the origins of the early ‘Aryans’ within and outside India. Jaya Menon examines data from excavations of Harappan culture. Kai Friese lucidly explains the Rakhigarhi research which has been talked about a lot in the recent past and Razib Khan provides insights arising from research into genetics.