India digs deep to revive "mythical" river of Hindu pride By Deepshikha Ghosh, Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi (IANS) It is the season of drought in India. Naturally, an official project to dredge up and revive a dried up Indian river linked to Hindu pride but suspected by some to be mythical is raising eyebrows. The river Saraswati, said to be some 10,000 years old, was hitherto famous as one of the holiest Hindu rivers mentioned in the ancient Vedas, scriptures recording life and times dating back to 3000 B.C. It is said to be the invisible river that joins the holy Ganges and the Yamuna at a confluence in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, where millions of devotees come to pray and wash away their sins. The mass of Hindus believes the Saraswati's water runs below the earth there. But if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government has its way and the gargantuan efforts of scholars, geologists, archaeologists and historians bear fruit the Saraswati may be resurrected after thousands of years. "The idea is to explore and get more evidence so that we can establish whether the Saraswati existed or not," says Tourism and Culture Minister Jagmohan, who set up a committee of scholars in June to explore the subject. The panel, the minister says, would evaluate the historical, hydrological, geological and archaeological evidence regarding Saraswati, which he feels was a part of Indian heritage. If the panel concludes the river did exist, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will proceed to dig deep along the estimated course to strike water. The Rig Veda gives the Saraswati supremacy over the Indus or the Ganges and many of its hymns are believed to have been composed on its banks. Historians and archaeologists have traced it to places like Iran and Afghanistan where there are rivers with similar-sounding names like Harahwaiti. Work has begun at Adi Badri in Haryana, said to be the origin of the river, and parts of Rajasthan and Punjab, said ASI director (excavations) R.S. Bisht. "Saraswati - or the river of lakes - can be recharged by filling up its oxbow lakes," he told IANS. Oxbow lakes are structures formed at the bends of the river's serpentine course. Many such lakes have long been covered by human settlement. "We cannot recreate the entire river, but we can deepen the pools to fill it with ground water, at least to give a symbolic shape to the river as it was in ancient times." Bisht dismissed the belief that the river was a figment of imagination. He said it was beautifully recorded and described in ancient Hindu texts. "Nobody disputes the existence of the Saraswati any more. Satellite imagery through remote sensing has established the form of an enormous river that could have dried up 4,000 years ago," he told IANS. Four scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation took the pictures almost two decades ago. The official, who played a key role in Harappan excavations, said even the Vedas recorded how such a river vanished "despite the plea of sages and sacrifices performed by the kings". He did not specify the time period of the river's existence. "It is difficult to date the Vedas. But don't take the physical importance of the river - take its spiritual importance." Saraswati is also the name of the Hindu goddess of learning, worshipped faithfully by Hindu schoolchildren and others. The river is described as the "best among rivers, best among mothers and best among goddesses." Bisht said the river, which was mostly rain-fed, evaporated during 2000 B.C. when a global increase in aridity claimed many rivers not connected to glaciers. "If the Saraswati was non-existent, how can so many Harappan and pre-Harappan sites exist on the banks of its tributaries?" Bisht asked. He added that the river dried up during the aridity brought on by the huge economic and cultural superstructure of the Harappan civilization that ultimately led to its extinction. Critics of the Saraswati theory believe it is the ongoing attempt by Hindu nationalist scholars, historians and other experts to link Indian origin to the greatness of the Aryans. The river Saraswati, if indeed it existed, would have nourished pre-Harappan settlements along its banks, which pro-Hindu historians say was the true Vedic age. Said historian Arjun Dev: "The river Saraswati seems to be more a matter of faith than an academic question. "They have already come to the conclusion that a civilization pre-existed the Harappan civilization, which was founded by Vedic Aryans." This river would be an important proof. "This government is trying to tailor the entire history of India to suit their notions of Hindu supremacy." --Indo-Asian News Service =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
