Dravidians and the Punjab
by Anwar Shaikh
http://www.hindutva.org/AnwarShaikh/Rgveda/DravidiansPunjab.html

No scripture has ever praised its land of origin with half as much love, enthusiasm and devotion as the Rg veda has applauded Punjab, originally the land of the Sindhu and six rivers. This fact shows the eternal bond between the Rgveda and the Punjab. There is not a word about the foreign origin of the Aryans in this book, which is undoubtedly the greatest authority on this issue. If the Aryans were foreign migrants or the invaders, the Rgveda would have mentioned where they came from. In fact, this is the first-thing, the Book would have done. Being myself an immigrant to Great Britain, I know what home-sickness or nostalgia is. It is, in fact, a psychological relief for an immigrant community to talk of their homeland, do their best to preserve their customs and traditions, call new settlements after the names of their home-towns, and mention their motherland in their arts and literature. This is exactly what the immigrants to Great Britain from the Indian sub-continent and other parts of the globe are doing with a zeal which is ever-young, ever- growing and ever-romantic. This applies to any community of settlers; when the British went abroad, the English set up a colony in America which they called New England. the Scots called their settlement in Canada, Nova Scotia, and the Welsh from South Wales founded the state of New South Wales in Australia. Those who claim that the Aryans deliberately concealed their original homeland, are just fabricators, determined to impress on the face of history, their fallacy which is foul, fiendish and fanciful. Why did they have to hide their origin? What could they possibly gain from this hypocrisy? Not only that, conquerors never make a secret of their identity. In fact, they display it as a matter of pride. This equally applies to the Punjabis; in their homeland i.e. Punjab, they thought of themselves as Arya or Noble owing to their cultural accomplishment; when they pushed into the Doab, the Ganges Valley, they named it as the Aryavarta, the land of the Aryans to distinguish themselves from the non-Aryans whom they called Mlechha i.e. the barbarians, ignorant of the Aryan speech and manners. They did not need such a distinction in the Punjab, which was their original home.

Aryavarta is the nostalgic expression of their homeland, the Punjab, which they adored in the Vedic hymns repeatedly with an affection unknown in any scripture. Let me quote from Hymn LXXV, called the Rivers:

1. The Rivers have come forward triply, seven and seven. Sindhu (the Indus) excels in glory all the streams that flow.

2. Rich in good steeds in Sindhu, rich in cars and robes, extravagant in gold, skillfully- fashioned, profusely rich in ample wealth.

Here is a smack in the face of those who pretend that there were no horses in India, and therefore call Aryans the dwellers of Central Asia where horse-riding is common. This hymn clearly states the land of Sindhu abounded in steeds, the high-spirited horses. This shows that high-quality horse-breeding was a noble profession of the Punjabis who mostly belonged to the Kshatrya caste. The fact that a religious military sect was first evolved in the Punjab, demonstrates the martial character of its people, which was at its best at that time. This Punjabi peculiarity was to reassert itself in the form of Sikhism centuries later.

This hymn also gives a geographical description of the land we call Punjab. It is originally a territory where according to Professor Max Mueller, seven rivers flow, namely:

1. Indus
2. Vitasta
3. Asikni
4. Parusni
5. Vipas
6. Sutudri and the
7. Sarasvati/Kubah

About the Sarasvati, some scholars believe that this is another name for the Indus river, and others hold that it has ceased to exist. However, learned men like Lassen and Ludwig include Kubah (the Kabul River) in this list instead of Sarasvati. As this description of the Punjab does make sense, I am averse to widening the investigative scope of this article. Therefore, I shall restrict my view of the Punjab to the territories traditionally thought to be part of it. By this, I mean the areas that lie in the north of Rajasthan, Sindh and Baluchistan, between the Yamuna in the East and the Sulaiman Range in the West. For the sake of explanation, I may add that Jammu and Kashmir have always formed part of the Punjab. In fact, it comprises an area 800 miles in length and 650 miles in breadth which includes cities such as Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Multan, Lahore, Amritsar, Ambala, Delhi and fifty miles beyond. Of course, the geographical concept of the Punjab has suffered changes during different periods of history but these are the areas which come to the mind from the study of the Rgveda. However, from the eulogy that the Rgveda bestows on the Sindhu(Indus River) one cannot ignore a part of the northern Sind which has also been referred to by the historian as the Lower Punjab.

According to the Rgveda, the Punjab is Sapta Sindhu, the land served by seven rivers, namely the Indus, the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej and Kubah. The Aryans thought that these rivers were divinities for having wonderful qualities.

The study of the Rgveda leaves on in no doubt that the flower of civilization flourished on the banks of the Indus rewarding mankind with its fragrance through the migration of its noble sons to other parts of the world. I ought to introduce here the mighty Indus which is a great trans-Himalayan river, 1800 miles or 2900 kilometers long. It has a drainage area of 450,000 square miles, mostly in the plains of Pakistan. I do not deny the cultural glory of the Nile, the Tigris and the Euphrates but the splendor of the Sindhu is immeasurable. Not only is it the sacred, sweet and supreme stream of the Rgveda but its annual flow of about 274,055,000,000 cubic yards is twice that of the Nile and thrice that of the Tigris and Euphrates put together!

After emerging from the regions of high altitudes, the Indus flows rapidly between the Swat and Hazara districts of Pakistan. The Kabul River joins the Indus just above Attock. It cuts across the Salt Range near Kalabagh to enter the Punjab Plain. After receiving the waters of its five tributaries, namely the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas and the Sutlej, which create the name Punjab (land of the five rivers), it becomes a large water stream; it widens to several miles in the flood season during July and September. Near Tatta, the Indus begins its deltaic stage and splits up into distributaries which join the sea at various points south east of Karachi.

Migration from the Punjab has been a fairly regular feature. In 1947, all Hindu and Sikh Punjabis left the West Punjab and all Muslim Punjabis migrated from the East Punjab as a result of religious antagonism. During the early Vedic period, different Kshatrya clans of the Punjabis lived in various parts of this land. Membership of this caste was founded on fighting. Thus greater the martial skill a Kshatrya acquired the more pious, prestigious and pompous he became. They developed customs of chivalry which far excelled what was practiced in Europe during the medieval times. Since purpose of the martial arts is self-defense and decapitation of the adversary, These Punjabi warriors, who were conscious of their fighting skills, called themselves as the Aryans or Nobles. However, habitually split on religious grounds into two fanatically opposed groups as the Aryans and the Dasa or Dasyus, they could not find peace in their homeland. Their sectarian wars must have been eternal. As a result, the weaker or defeated groups sought solace in emigration. These emigrants though beaten, were still Kshatrya, trained in the art of fighting, horse-riding and military administration. Above all, they had proud traditions of dying for honor and domination. In the beginning, they found the northern passes, more convenient exits to Central Asia and Europe than moving to the South or East India, though they did so in the later Vedic period c. 1000 B.C. Since civilization to various parts of India spread from the Sapta Sindhu, it gives Punjab the honor of being the Cultural Fountain of India.

The Punjabi or Aryan culture is based on the Rgveda, which demonstrates precociousness of the Punjabi mind. In fact, the Rgveda is uniquely splendid in depicting the vision of the Vedic seers, their analytical power and pulsating zeal for knowing the truth through observation and mastery of description. Of course, the Bible and the Koran have exerted a tremendous influence on the world civilisation but that has been done through the agency of faith. The Rgvedic influence has been infinitely greater in this field and far more lasting. It is because the Vedic approach is rational; it is based on the natural sequence of cause and effect; its essence is: "you reap, what you sow." This is why the Vedic doctrine advocates Karman (practice) and Free Will, which involve reasoning. It is opposed to the Biblical and Koranic philosophy based on predestination and intercession.

I need not describe the precedence of the Punjabi culture over the Indian way of life because it is much too obvious. The same goes for the cultural life of the Far Eastern countries which have heavily borrowed from the Indian traditions. However, I ought to demonstrate the traces of the Vedic customs found in the Western culture. I intend to establish this fact, which will prove that the ancestors of European nations must have migrated from Punjab, the land of the Rgveda, otherwise they could not have inherited the Vedic culture.

Before launching an enquiry into the influence of the Rgveda on Europe, I may describe what the Veda is: the word: Veda means knowledge. In practice, it applies to a huge mass of sacred Indian literature of great antiquity. In fact, the vedas are inspired and represent man's quest for the truth. This is the spiritual urge which is over and above the human drives such as food, sex and shelter. The spiritual urge forces humans to think what this life is for. Why are we here? Is there a life after death? What is the way that leads to eternity? Why is this universe mysterious? Where has it come from? Has it a beginning and an end? Who made it? What is the nature of it Maker? Is He Himself subject to the law of change? Is the universal law absolute or is it mutable?

Such are the questions which made the Vedic seers cogitate and meditate. So great was their vision and intuitive intensity that the inspirations they drew from this process look superhuman and remain unparalleled in their magnitude, magnificence and mastery of conveyance. The Vedic principles and conclusions are essentially inspired; they are a product of someone who is a seeker, a researcher and anxious to dive into the turbulent world of the mind, extremely difficult to explore. The success rate is so high that they look of divine origin. This is why some Hindus believe that the god Brahma wrote every word of them in his own hand upon leaves of gold. Of course, believers are always led by their beliefs, and not reason. The most gracious and the greatest quality of the Rgveda is that it depicts man's quest for the Truth and his ability to find it. The Vedic God does not tout for devotees; it is the devotee who looks for Him, and when the searcher genuinely attunes himself with the natural and social phenomena around him, he feels inspired and becomes the knower of the Truth.

However, the Hindus having suffered the Semitic influence over the last 1,000 years, believe that the Vedas are revealed and not inspired. I am right in stressing this point because the Vedic teaching is not based on Predestination but Free Will which declares Karman (the deed) as the vehicle of Mukti (salvation) and not grace or intercession. However, detailed discussion of this issue is outside the scope of this article.

There are four Vedas:

1. The Rgveda, the original composition which took place in the Punjab and belongs to the earliest period. It consists of 1028 hymns which usually praise the forces behind natural phenomena such as sun, moon, sky, stars, wind, rain, fire, dawn, earth, etc. Some ot the hymns depict wisdom which is incredible for the age of the Vedic composition. There are no romantic stories or fairy tales in it.

The other three Vedas are principally the reflections of the Rgveda and were written outside the Punjab. They are namely:

2. Samaveda or Knowledge of the Melodies.

3. The Yajur-Veda or Knowledge of the Sacrificial Formulas, and

4. The Athar Veda, or Knowledge of the Magic Formulas.

Again, each of these four Vedas is divided into four sections:

1. The Mantras or Hymns.

2. The Brahmanas, or manual of rituals, prayers and incantations for the priests.

3. The Aranyaka, or "forest texts" for hermit saints, and

4. Upanishads, the celebrated philosophical treatises.

Age of the vedas is a big problem. Some Hindu scholars go as far back as 6000 B.C. Basing his judgement on astronomical calculations, Colebrook concluded that a Vedic Calendar existed in the 14th century B.C. From this fact, it has been determined that the date of the earliest hymn ought to be carried back another 1,000 years; it means that the antiquity of the Rgveda goes back to 2500 B.C. At one time, I held the same opinion. As original language of the Rgveda provides the basic structure for other languages such as Greek, Latin, Kelt, Teuton and Slovonian, its antiquity ought to be stretched back by another 1,000 years, to 3500 B.C. It is because the said Janguages could not have come to look so different from Sanskrit in less than ten centuries. Again, it has been acknowledged in recent years that science of philology cannot exist without the study of Sanskrit nor can the comparative study of religions make sense without reference to the Veda. Since the Veda serves as the focal point in terms of language and religion, it provides a record of the progress related to human thinking and maturity of mind. Thus the Veda must have the longest possible antiquity, compatible with the evolutionary conditions and principles. Therefore, 3500 B.C. or thereabout seems to be the right age for the Rgveda.

There is another way of tackling this issue, that is, looking at the Vedic gods such as Indra, Agni, Varuna, Surya, Pushan, Parjanya, etc. What is called Hinduism is centred around the triad of Vishnu, Brahma and Siva. This phenomenon of Three-in-One, also exhibited by the expression: OM, is derived from the Rgveda, which treats them as younger and junior gods. It means that Indra, Agni, Varuna, etc., are older gods than Vishnu, Brahma and Siva, yet they all are Vedic gods because they have been referred to in the Vedas. Calling Siva, as the Dravidian god is an act which has no justification. He is as much a Vedic or Aryan god as the other two i.e., Vishnu and Brahma. However, Siva, who is considered the god of the Dravidian or Indus Valley Civilisation, thus becomes a point of special interest.

It is not Siva who is the fountain of the Indus Civilisation but the undivided Punjab whose geography is stated by the Rgveda. In this context, look at the following:

To him the strong, great, tawny, fair-
complexioned, I utter forth mighty praises,
We serve the brilliant God with adorations,
We glorify the splendid name of Rudra.
(Book II, 33-8)

Here the fair-complexioned god being invoked is universally acknowledged as Siva, who is also called Rudra. He is obviously not black or non-Aryan. Since the Indus Valley civilisation is ascribed to him, it must have been a younger extension of the Vedic culture. It should also be noted that the artefacts found in the Indus Valley (Punjab and Sindh) such as dolls wearing jewels in their noses and ekka etc., prove that the people of the Indian sub-continent still practise their original customs. People of the Punjab have always been fanatic in their religious zeal. In the pre-partition India, though both the Hindus and the Muslims were Punjabis, they hated the sight of one another. The Hindus thought of the Muslims as Mlechhas (the impure) and the Muslims called them "Kafirs" (the infidels). Neither they intermarried nor they shook hands with one another, nor did they attend social meetings together; similar conditions must have prevailed in the Vedic times. The religious differences earned the people of Mohenjodaro and Harappa the contemptible epithets of Dasa and Dasyus, who were racially Aryans but came to practise different forms of religion. This religious conflict led to perpetual battles. The stronger groups called themselves Aryans (Nobles) but the weaker sections were named as Dasas or Dasyus. To protect their religion, which was a varied form of the Vedic faith, prevalent in the Punjab, the Dasas migrated towards the South.

When a nation loses its sense of national glory, it becomes like a rolling stone, which feels comfortable on a downward slope. This is the psychological condition which people of the Indian sub-continent have suffered for a long time. Having reached its climax in 1947, it is heading towards a second peak as it is quite clear from the mode of politics in South India these days. Therefore, I may digress to add a few words about the "Aryan-Dravidian" basic racial unity though it may appear strange to those who are indulging in a similar two-nation theory as did the Muslims half a century ago.

The Hindus determined to follow this political path must also realise that they will face similar hellish conditions in their separate "homelands" as do the Muslims in Pakistan.

Since this book is about the wisdom of the Rgveda and the cultural influence it has exerted on the world civilisation, I intend to be as brief as possible on this issue and shall be guided by the Encyclopaedia Britannica in relation to historical and lingual narrative:

1. Siva is the Rudra of the Rgveda. He has been mentianed there as often as seventy-two times, and nearly forty times indirectly in connection with the Maruts, sons of Rudra also called Rudras. He is the roaring or flashing Tempest-God of the Rgveda. In fact, he is given the opposite features because he is not only the Tempest-God but is also described as a gentle healer and beneficient.

The Sivites, who later developed this Vedic description of Siva, cannot call him a Dravidian god. He is simply a Vedic god, and therefore, whatever culture is ascribed to him, has got to rank as a branch of the Aryan culture. This fact vouches for the basic unity of the Aryans and Dravidians.

2. The three-faced Agni is the forerunner of the three- faced Siva. It gives them the same origin, which is Vedic.

3. As previously stated, Siva is as fairly complexioned as is Agni or other Aryan gods. Therefore, he is one of them.

Those who paint him black to identify him with South India suffer from a bias which originates from a will highly mischievous, malevolent and misdirected. The colour of a people is climatic and not a racial factor. An example to this effect are the gypsies, who also come from the Punjab. Most of those, who dwell in Europe, have developed blue eyes and white skins.

4. Since Rudra or Siva is a junior god of the Rgveda. the culture ascribed to him, has also to be junior to the Vedic culture. Therefore, there is no substance in the assertion that the "Aryans who were foreign invaders" learnt culture from the Dravidians, "the natives of India."

This myth is also exploded by the fact that as there is no mention in the Rgveda that the Aryans were foreigners, there is no statement which confirms that the Dravidians are the aboriginies of India. Since racially both these groups are on par with each other, they have got to be the same people. These remarks are confirmed by the recent archaelogical findings around Rawalpindi (Pakistan). The methods of burial and antiquity of the artefacts, have led to the opinion that civilisation in this area existed some 500 years earlier than other parts of the Indus Valley.

5. Since Siva is a part of the Vedic faith which is indigenous to the Punjab, the Dravidians must also originate from the Punjab. In fact, such an opinion has existed for sometime.

6. The Dravidians did not originate in South India. Take Ayurveda, for instance. As its name implies, it is a Vedic system of medicine but those who believe in the racial divide of Aryan-Dravidian, claim that it is a Dravidian method of cure. Similarly, they claim that most of the Hindu heroes of northern India including Kautilya, were Dravidian. Even Sultan Haider Ali was a Dravidian, though history knows full well that his grandfather was a street-beggar of Lahore. Since they have a common ancestry with the people af northern India, they can be rightly proud of them. Why indulge in mischievous innovation, which can be injurious to the whole nation?

7. When it comes to religion. the Punjabis seldom pay attention to reason. During 1947, the Punjabi Muslims drove the Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus out of the West Punjab. Thereafter, East Punjab was again divided because of the Hindu-Sikh religious strife. This peculiarity of the Punjabis has existed since time immemorial. The so-called Dravidians were turned out of the Punjab owing to religious antagonism. There is evidence to this effect: Brahui is one of the Dravidian languages. It is still spoken in Sindh (Pakistan) by 300,000 people. As a result of the religious abrasion, it was natural for the "Dravidians" to migrate from the Punjab to Sindh and elsewhere. These Brahui speaking people are a remnant of that religious upheaval.

In 1953, India constitutionally established the linguistic state of-Andhra Pradesh followed by Tamil Nadu, Mysore, and Kerala Literature of the Tamil language is the most extensive and as ancient as that of Sanskrit but that is no basis for a separate racial identity. People of the same land can speak different dialects without losing one-nation status. The common heritage that the Aryans and Dravidians possess by way of Lord Siva and the associated rituals, plus close cultural traditions, render them as indigenous Indian groups. Even if they came from elsewhere, the fact that they have lived in the same land for the last 5,000 years, has welded them together racially. If through marriage, individuals and families can become members of one united clan, how can two racial groups maintain their separate identities over such a long time? The fact that they have had a close social intercourse over the centuries, has made them all Indian, and their common deference to Lord Siva, is a uniting force and not a dividing factor.

8. What I have said above is a logical conclusion, and does not contradict my view that the Aryans and Dravidian are one racial group, which originated in the Punjab. The modern Dravidian states of India are lingual and not racial. As an independent family, the Dravidian languages were first recognised in 1816, and it was Robert A Caldwell, who actually introduced the term Dravidian from the Sanskrit word: "Dravida." Attempts have been made to link the Dravidian speakers with various linguistic groups such as Uralic (Hungarian, Finnish) and Altaic (Turkish, Mongols). This is a doomed effort. There is a simple explanation for the presence of some Dravidian words and grammatical constructions in these foreign lands. That is, originally there was no animosity between the "Aryans-Dravidians." In the beginning, they emigrated as one group but might have spoken different dialects. It was natural for the more advanced dialect to prevail, though the under- dilect was bound to leave some impressions on the literatures of foreign lands. This situation is clearly explained by Britain, which linguistically, is an association of the English, Welsh and Scottish. As the English have been dominant partners, their tongue has become the international language but as it contains many Welsh and Scottish words and idioms, they have also filtered into foreign speeches. It is further evidenced by the fact that a number of features belonging to the Dravidian languages appear in the Rgveda. This confirms that:

a. The Aryans and Dravidian lived in the same areas i.e. the Punjab.

b. As Siva is common to both the Aryans and Dravidians, they were originally the same people and practised the same religion and culture.

c. Their split was caused by their religious interpretations leading to the dichotomy of Aryans and Dravidians. The dominant group called itself Noble and the vanquished sect was named as Dasa or Dasuys.

It is quite possible that as one racial group, they spoke the same language, but after a few centuries, they became bilingual. The linguistic scholars have quoted several instances to this effect such as the spheres of phonology i.e. retroflex consonants, syntax and vocabulary. The Dasas must have first moved to the areas of the lower Punjab i.e. now called Sindh, to isolate themselves from the Victors but as the religious hatred became worse, they headed to south India. It obviously did not happen all at once but over a period of a long time. This is shown by the presence of Brahui in Sindh. As they settled in Sindh, they took their indigenous Punjabi culture with them. It is amply proved by the findings of the figurines of Siva, a Vedic god, various clay statuettes wearing jewels in their noses, primitive models of ekka, and so on. That they were originally followers of the Veda, is proven by the yogic posture of Lord Siva depicted on certain seals excavated in the Punjab and Sindh. Yoga is, of course, a highly illuminating aspect of the Veda.

One wonders why they did not settle in the nearer districts of the Ganga-Jamuna Doab. The answer seems to be that by then Aryans, the dominant group of the Punjabis had started colonising the said areas, and Dravidians, the vanquished Punjabis, wanted to get as far away from their persecutors as they could; nothlng could be farther than south India and northern Ceylon.

The Welsh history supports my hypothesis. As I shall narrate later, the people of Wales like other Celts, practised Vedic culture. Their priestly class was essentially Brahmans due to their privileges, rituals and way of life, but they were not callec as such; they were known as Druids, which is a variant of Dravidian. Some scholars have remarked Vid is the root of Druid. Since this word, meaning "to know" is also the root of Veda, it seems right to assume that the Dravidians were as much Vedic as the Aryans. They both originated in the Punjab, and were racially one people.

Indian glory has suffered, not only from the misinterpretation of "Aryans" and the "Aryan-Dravidian" divide but also the lingual claims of the Western historians, who usually refer to an Indo-European language. They claim that the said language was a sister of Sanskrit, and thus assert that the similarities between Sanskrit and the European languages such as Greek, Latin, German, English, Welsh, Lithuanian, etc., are due to this reason. Thev also stress that these similarities were further deepened by the Aryan invasion of India, leading to a permanent settlement.

If this were true, some European nation would have possessed a book like the Rgveda but none of them has ever had such a book. Again, the fact that Sanskrit has survived in its entirety but its so-called sister European language has not, proved that the Punjabis were the superior race of the time. Since, it is the Veda, whose survival has preserved the continuity of the world civilisation, the Indian cultural benelicence ought to be recognised. The cause of the said similarities between Sanskrit and the so-called Indo-European language, springs from the fact that almost all lands of Europe were once conquered and colonised by the Punjabis, who came to be known as the Celts. The Iranian Avesta cannot claim this honour because it has been inspired by the Veda and contains many quotations from it.

On the surface, it appears a fairy tale but when we delve deeper, it emerges as the whole truth, which the mist of time has concealed almost completely. However, before I narrate this story, I must state why the Punjabis were able to beat their adversaries in foreign lands. The reason is that the Rgveda prescribes fighting for its followers to support holy causes which include honour, righteousness, care of the weak and the oppressed as well as conquest and just administration. These facts formed part of the Kshatriya code, which they practised with complete sincerity and devotion. As other nations lacked such a mental discipline, they could not stand up ta the Punjabis or the Celts. Centuries later, a similar situation was repeated by the Prophet Muhammad, who prescribed fighting for his Muslim devotees known as Mujahedeens. It is for this reason, the Arabs prevailed against their opponents and succeeded in setting up a large empire.

Unfortunately, the martial ethos of the Rgveda has been completely misrepresented by the Hindus, who practise Ahimsa (non-violence), and yet claim to be the followers of the Vedas! However, this is not the issue here; the real point is that the Aryans and Dravidians are cognate.

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