Varanasi is as old as Indus valley civilization, finds IIT-KGP study

Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey | Feb 25, 2016, 11.49 PM IST

Kolkata: It's a perfect example of science meeting faith and technology buttressing myth. A detailed study conducted by IIT-Kharagpur - using GPS, one of the latest tech tools - could well turn the clock back on Varanasi, indicating that the holy town has been a continuous human settlement since the days of the Indus Valley Civilization, around 6000 years ago.

The project, funded by the Union ministry of human resources development (it has released Rs 20 crore just for the first phase), has even attracted the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The PM made it a point to explore the project's progress on Sunday at Varanasi, when he met the IIT-Kgp faculty members and inquired about its possibilities and scope.

The results that have come from a detailed geo-exploration (exploration conducted through GPS technology) conducted by seven IIT-Kgp departments, tracing the different stages through which civilization progressed, and how Varanasi has been able to maintain continuity as a living civilization, unlike comparable seats of human settlement in the world. The researchers have dug 100-metre-deep boring holes all over Varanasi to conclude that there is evidence of continuous settlement at least till 2000BC. There are enough indications that by the time the data collection is over, there would be enough to prove that this date can be pushed back to about 4500BC.

The oldest part of this civilisation has been traced to the Gomati Sangam area of Varanasi, as indicated by the underground layers that have already been tested.

It is perhaps time to take a re-look at India's history. IIT Kharagpur is about to make an explosive announcement. It is ready to put the clock 6000 years back on Varanasi, bringing it at par with the Indus valley civilisation, if not older. What's more, the seven departments of IIT Kgp, that are working on the project, are tracing the different stages through which the civilisation has progressed and has yet been able to maintain its continuity as a living civilisation, unlike comparable ancient civilisations around the world.

The project, which is completely funded by the union ministry of human resources development, has attracted the attention of none less than Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who made it a point to explore its progress on Sunday at Varanasi, when he met the IIT Kgp faculty members and inquired about the possibilities and the scope of the project.

The results that have come from a detailed geo exploration through the GPS conducted through 100 metre deep bore holes all over Varanasi shows continuous settlement history till 2000 BC. The indicators are that at the end of data collection, this will be put back another '1500 years to establish the final habitable antiquity of Varanasi at 4500 BC.

The geo-exploration, that is being conducted jointly with the British Geological Survey, has already established the existence of Naimisharanya, a forest that finds mention in the Vedas and in the Kashipurana. This forest was considered mythological all these years.

The researchers are also trying to set up a riverine route from Kolkata to Varanasi to Prayag (Allahabad). "Since ancient times, people used this route but the advent of the railways stopped it. We are trying to re-establish that route," said Joy Sen, a senior faculty member of the school of architecture and planning, who is also the chief of the project that has been christened Sandhi. The other departments that are involved in sandhi are humanities and social sciences, computer science, information technology, electrical, electronics and telecommunications and oceanography. The riverine route will be developed to carry tourists, said sources.

Separate heritage trails leading to the five oldest ghats - Asi, Kedar, Dasashwamedh, Panchaganga and Rajghat - are also being created. "We are tracing the ashrams of ancient yogis and spiritual leaders of all religions that dotted the lanes leading to the ghats. Some of these are extinct now, some dilapidated. We will reclaim and restore as much as possible," Sen explained.

A large part of the project, which began in August last year, aims at creating a green rim and reclaiming the greenery and waterbodies that dotted the entire zone from Sarnath to the campus of Benares Hindu University. Efforts are on to remove encroachment and illegal constructions so that the earlier ecosystem is reclaimed as far as possible. "Varanasi has been the seat of all religions and their holy men, who will all be represented elaborately in the project. Efforts are also being made to establish special zones in areas that are dominated by old age homes and shelters for widows," Sen added.

Language, music and iconograohy play a major role in Sandhi. Old texts like Kashipuran or Skandapuran, Mahabharata and Ramayana and the Buddhist text Anguttaranikaya are being re-read for descriptions of Kashi and Kashiraj that were considered mythological all these years.

"We are encountering surprises every day. What was thought to be lore or myth is gradually getting established as history, and that is our biggest achievement," Sen said.

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Indian civilization is without the shred of a doubt, one of the most ancient in the world, and what is perhaps unequivoc... Read MoreVijay S Kumar
Source: timesofindia

The MHRD is completely funding the project and has already released Rs 20 crores for it.

The moderns of ancient India

Rigveda, Kamasutra, Arthashastra – A rich legacy of abjuring violence against women

Nirbhaya’s rape-murder and the outpouring of protest and anguish that followed invites us to imagine a society in which women are free agents. One which fully accepts that women have the right to make independent decisions – whether in their romantic and sexual lives or in the pursuit of education and work.

A society that discourages violence against women and condemns even marital rape. If violence occurs, society does not stigmatise the woman victim or blame her for somehow having incited the violence but does its best to offer her support and sympathy.

Such a society sounds like a utopian dream – particularly in a country still plagued by khap panchayat judgments ordering gang rape as a punishment for women suspected of “inappropriate relationships” and statements by politicians blaming women for rape. However, we wouldn’t have to travel far in space to find this utopia. We simply need to board a time machine, and jump straight into Rigvedic India.

The Rigveda does mention a rape. The victim is Ushas (Dawn), who flees to a cave, traumatised. She is then befriended by minstrel rishis who track her to her hidden dwelling, and offer praise and support. Singers gather in front of Ushas’s cave praising her radiance and lustre and persuading her to come out, which she eventually does.

In one of the hymns the rapist is punished; an arrow is shot at him. Society did not judge Ushas. It rallied to her aid, boosting her morale and helping her emerge from post-traumatic depression into a happy and normal life.

The society of the scriptures stigmatised neither the rape survivor nor the children born as a result of rape. A father who abandoned such a child was looked down upon, whosoever he might be.

Several Puranic texts chronicle the mighty Brihaspati’s rape of his brother’s wife, Mamata. The child was raised by his maternal grandparents before being adopted by King Bharata. He also became extremely learned. He and his descendants composed the hymns that constitute Book 6 of the Rigveda. While the child prospered, Brihaspati was despised. Mamata was neither stigmatised, nor abandoned by her husband.

In the Ramayana, the Suryavanshi prince, Danda, a serial rapist is exiled by his father to the Dandakaranya forest, where he proceeds to rape his teacher Shukracharya’s daughter Abja. Incensed, Shukracharya curses Danda – he and his entire clan perish.

Meanwhile, the regent discovers that Abja had conceived from the rape. He brings her to the Suryavanshi capital, Ayodhya, with great honour. She becomes queen and her child, Harit, later ascends the throne. Not only did the rape victim and her child flourish; no one questioned their rights to the throne. Illegitimacy carried no stigma.

Besides sexual violence, physical or psychological violence against women is discouraged in the Rigveda, as illustrated by the famous funeral hymn. A woman who lies down, depressed, beside her dead husband is urged to get up and embrace the world of the living – with laughter, good food and song. She is even encouraged to take the hand of a suitor who could be a potential second husband.

Some Vedic women, far from being helpless and victim-like, were very martial. In a famous hymn about Mudgala’s wife, robbers steal his entire stock of cattle. The couple is left with an old bull and a creaky wooden cart with one wheel missing. After Mudgala makes some ad hoc repairs, the couple give chase, his wife holding the reins and driving the cart drawn by the bull. Her skill ensures that they capture all their own cattle as well as some of their raiders’.

Other Vedic hymns mention a woman warrior, Vishpala, who fought at night in the Battle of Khela. Losing a leg in battle did not faze the lady. She got an iron leg made and rejoined the battle.

Leap forward now in time to Vatsyayana and his Kamasutra. Vatsyayana warns husbands (especially in the context of arranged marriages) not to force themselves on their wives: “Women, being of a tender nature, want tender beginnings, and when they are forcibly approached by men with whom they are but slightly acquainted, they sometimes suddenly become haters of sexual connection, and sometimes even haters of the male sex. The man should therefore approach the girl according to her liking.”

Vatsyayana is equally against date rape; he points out that it has similar effects on the woman who is “forcibly enjoyed” by “one who does not understand the hearts of girls”: she begins to hate sex and mankind in general. Again, no disposition to blame women for being raped; the responsibility lies squarely with the rapist.

Nor does marriage give a man an inalienable right to his wife’s person – quite a revolutionary idea when marital rape is not criminalised even in modern society. Both Vatsyayana and Kautilya, the author of the Arthashastra, maintain that wives could resort to divorce (with the option of remarriage) under some circumstances. Thus, women trapped in violent marriages were not without an exit strategy.

It would be ideal if violence against women simply didn’t exist. If this is impossible, the best alternative is a society where a woman’s self-worth and honour are not diminished simply by a crime against her person. Hopefully, we can use our distant ancestors’ social norms for inspiration in moving towards such a society.

The writer is associate professor of economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University

Source: TOI

Audio transcript of discussion with S Gurumurthy on Quantitative Easing

America which introduces more cash into system is to finance largely imports at the consumption level but in Japan it is quantitative using is to promote exports they do export financing. For example Abe govt (Japan Government) decides that they would pump in $50 billion a month over the next 18 months.

They will finance the Japanese corporate for their exports, in which let us assume Japanese govt. insists on 60% of the exports to be funded from Japan that is the import content of a project of say in Bombay-Delhi corridor, if they say 60% of the export from Japan and they finance this 60% so they convert this inflation into income without affecting the local economy, so the most important thing is you export your currency virtually.

This is because Japanese is savings driven economy but in America same may not work as it is a consumption driven economy, there you are financing consumption, here you are financing exports, which add to GDP, there you are financing consumption in imports which reduces the GDP so there is a huge difference.

How do you see the Quantitative Easing in Europe?

Quantitative Easing in Europe is again because of the weakening of the society which places burden on the state. Most of the economies except Germany weighed down by the enlightenment aged progressing into atomization of families and society. So state dependency is increased; so in 2006, there was a paper circulated in European Union where they discussed this issue, what is happening because they can’t discuss very directly just as you can’t discuss secularism in India, you can’t discuss limitations on individual rights, nobody has the guts & these is no leadership but China can do it, Japan can, even Russia can do it, none of these Anglo Saxon countries or Continental Europe can do it because they just don’t have the intellectual leadership which can take on present situation as they discuss in a very subtle manner how the families and communities has weaken in the process burden on government has increased.

The government is no more able to discharge the burden. They will be citing Scandinavian countries which are just nothing (in size), they are not even half the cities of India. So this is actually a State-Society imbalance in bearing responsibilities which is reflecting in economies. It is the western economies which are now failing and they are trying to correct it within the scope of system which is not going to work unless a very large part of responsibility is given back to the society and the family which they will say is republican approach. It is not correct having destroyed the family you can not hand over responsibility to weaken the family if you have to recreate the family. What you need is not economy, you need culture, tradition, religion which you don’t have and you need reverence. Modernity actually targets reverence. Actually there should be no reverence for anybody and there is a lot of study on all of these individually.

Paul Woodruff has written a book titled Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue. How everybody is equal teacher and students are equal, parents and wards are equal he says, a huge economical consequences this affects propensity to savings, it affects the type of savings whether equity or fixed rate of return so all these are now to be read into economics. So the only Asian can probably re interpret the economics. it is not possible for Europe. May be America will be able to do it because very large part of America even today is religious.

Sree Iyer

This is what you call middle part of the country; i. e. in terms of the economy what it contributes is overall economy is probably is 20%. This is Pareto principle (80:20) the thing is West Coast and East Coast are the ones that are the engines of America, the middle not so much. If you look at really where the productivity of America happens is usually on the coasts.

Gurumurthy

No, I am not talking about economy, I am talking about sustainability. Sustainability of life model is very different from the contribution you measure in economic terms. So that in respect I believe normative living is the only way economy will sustain. There is no normative living, there is regulated living. Normative living is something which is generated by society, family without the intervention of formal system. Formal system is regulatory, so I think ultimately you have got to align normative life style which we call “Dharma”. Where there is self restraint, nobody restrains from enjoying, you restrain yourself. Modernity says you go out and enjoy, who are you? Who is anybody to question you? These are 2 different paradigms even if they tell we don’t do it that is a sustaining the fact you go out and enjoy the world, the world is open to you for enjoying it. This is the basis of modern economics but why you are not doing it?

Sree Iyer

As a rule it was true… One thing is over last 5-10 years small changes are happening… i. e. if a student is going to college for studies, the student loan debt is so high that he/ she doesn’t have a realistic way of paying back that and then start saving to buy a house. So what is happening amongst all families now is that these students are beginning to come back and live with their parents after they do their under graduate education because there is no other source, in a way it is forced upon them. I am not saying it is true for everybody but there is a trend towards that.

Gurumurthy

These are all marginal developments, how many American students are going for higher studies that is percentage of students going for higher studies?

Sree Iyer

Right now everybody has to do an under grad degree rather bachelors degree. One : Two – That is I would say 50% and the other one which misses out are the single families, minorities or where there are immigrants who have just come in so they are not able to get into the system and so on and so forth. This is still one of the highest numbers in terms of people applying to go for under grad education that is going up.

Gurumurthy

See, there are only 28% of American families having husband and wife living with children “Only 28%”. About 21% couples living without children. Parent family is about 20-21% and balance is all……

If you see the rise of single parent families and children and couples with children there is inverse proportion. One is going up and other is going down. See what will happen after 30 years so ultimately if you say single parent families are unable to educate their children’s single parent family are rising. Can you prove it in economics?

Sree Iyer

They get a lot of breaks, though in the sense if you show aptitude the state underwrites a lot of education.

Gurumurthy

So again, it means you are putting burden on the state. See basically you don’t have a self restraining mechanism which says I will sacrifice for my child unless the parent thinks like that it is burden on the state. Unless the child thinks like that, the burden is on state. So how are you going to generate that spirit that is my duty to take care of their house. You can destroy it but cannot recreate it. This is what I think is going to be a terminal issue in the western model f what is known as “A Methodological Individualism” which is foundation of efficient market theory. The problem is with that you are measuring efficient market theory on the paradigm which is failing.

Sree Iyer

What is your outlook on Indian economy in next 4-5 years? How do you see it progressing?

Gurumurthy

See, India will rise because Indian Entrepreneur spirit is on rise. I am not talking about educated entrepreneurship. India is a paradigm of a Uneducated employer and educated employee. Go to Tiruppur, Ludhiana, Patiala etc.., out of 35% largest exporters one half of them is less than 5th standard.

Sree Iyer

I completely believe you, I studied in Hyderabad in Agarwal High School where attendance at school was optional but attendance at shop was mandatory. 3’0 clock after the class we had to go to the shop for collection.

Gurumurthy

RKR institution campus with 30000 students is owned by a person who is 8th standard pass but he is making business out of education

Sree Iyer

Sometimes I think, not educated also helps because you don’t worry about lot of other things that might go wrong

Gurumurthy

You become insecure if you are educated unless you have a fixed income.

Source: performancegurus