Hinduism & the Aryan Invasion

Last updated on: August 22, 2014 at 4:34 pm by George G. Coe

Hinduism & the Aryan Invasion 2014-08-22T16:34:37-05:00 George G. Coe

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Did Aryans invade the Indus River Valley and impose a rigid social hierarchy based on occupation, called the caste system?

Murali Balaji, Director of Education and Curriculum Reform for the Hindu American Foundation, argues that they did not. In an essay for the Huffington Post, Balaji says that these claims are false, and says “that they’ve become so entrenched in textbook depictions that it could take years to revise and rectify the overall narrative on Hinduism.”

Balaji believes that social studies teachers can correct those inaccuracies with lessons that include primary sources that help to “cultivate critical thinking skills.”
If Aryans did not invade, according to the BBC, then the belief is that Aryan culture is a development of the Indus Valley culture.

But there are also questions with this theory. One of the key problems, according to the BBC, is that no horse remains have been found in the Indus Valley but in the Veda the horse sacrifice is central.” Those who believe the Aryan invasion theory argue that they rode into the Indus River valley on horses.

The debate seems to be ongoing and Balaji is right. Students should look at the evidence for both theories and make up their own minds.

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