Nepali Wanderer

In our last story, we promised to talk about the origin of Hinduism. But before we dive into Hinduism, it is important to shed some light on the people of the Indian Subcontinent. And this coincides with my childhood curiosity and confusion about the term “Aryan.”

As a kid growing up in Nepal, we encountered two intriguing words: “Aryan” and “Mongolian,” used rather loosely to classify different ethnicities within our country. It took me years to wrap my head around the racial connotations attached to the word “Aryan” in the global scenario, and the subsequent catastrophes resulting from such lines of thinking! It left me wondering if there was any similarity (or difference) between the two uses of the same word. As fate would have it, to comprehend the term “Aryan,” we need to talk about the origin of the people in the Indian Subcontinent.

Before we dive in, let me add a disclaimer: there are plenty of conflicting theories and controversies regarding this topic. So, we will go with the most widely accepted theory (which almost always means the one ‘favored’ by the Western academics). Ready? Let’s dive in!

The first people to migrate to the Indian Subcontinent were from Africa around 60,000 years ago, aligning with the Out of Africa theory. These early migrants are generally termed the Early Indians. The second major wave of migration came from what is now Iran, introducing agriculture to the subcontinent. Together, the Early Indians and these Iranian migrants formed the Indus Valley Civilization, known as the Harappans (after the city Harappa).

The third wave of migration, the most debated and arguably the most impactful, came from the Indo-Aryan people, contributing to the rise of Hinduism, the dominant religion in the region. The fourth wave came from Austronesian and East Asian origins, mostly settling in the hilly and mountainous regions of the subcontinent.

Focusing on the third wave, it’s important to clarify that the term “Aryan” did not originally exist in the context of the Indian Subcontinent. The migrants referred to themselves as “Arya,” meaning noble. Over time, “Arya” was used interchangeably with “Aryan,” especially in English texts.

To understand this interchangeability, we need to trace the history of the Arya people through language, going back to 5000 BC in the Great Eurasian Steppes (near the Caspian and Black Seas). Many modern languages in Europe, Iran, and the Indian Subcontinent (like English, Spanish, Farsi, Hindi, and Nepali) stem from a common dialect known as Proto Indo-European (PIE). PIE was identified through linguistic similarities, such as those between Sanskrit and Latin.

The speakers of PIE were based around the Eurasian steppes. One group migrated to Europe, giving rise to ancient European languages like Greek and Latin. Another group moved to the Central Asian Steppes (modern-day Kazakhstan), leading to the Proto Indo-Iranian language.

The Proto Indo-Iranian speakers, who called themselves Arya, diverged into two groups: one towards modern-day Iran (leading to the Iranians) and the other towards the Indian Subcontinent (leading to the Indo-Aryas). These groups developed their own languages, with the Iranians speaking Avestan and the Indo-Aryas speaking Sanskrit. They also founded two of the oldest religions: Zoroastrianism and Hinduism.

Due to their long coexistence, the languages, scriptures, and rituals of the Indo-Iranians and Indo-Aryan speakers share notable similarities. Both the Avestan scripture Avesta and the Hindu Rig Veda mention common rites like the use of a liturgical fire (Yajna in Sanskrit/Yasna in Avestan), a sacred drink (Soma in Sanskrit/Hoama in Avestan), and sacred utterances (Mantras in Sanskrit/Manthras in Avestan).

Therefore, the term Arya is linked not just with the Indian subcontinent but also with Iran, as the word Iran means “the land of Aryas” in Persian. Controversy arose when the term Aryan was racially misappropriated, notably by the Nazis, leading to the Holocaust. Due to its sensitive nature, historians prefer a linguistic rather than a racial perspective when discussing terms like Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, and Indo-Aryans.

Returning to our story, the Aryas were Proto Indo-Iranian speakers, and the Indo-Aryas spoke Sanskrit. Around 1800 BC, the Indo-Aryas migrated to the Indian Subcontinent, ushering in the Vedic Era, which laid the foundation for Hinduism.

But wait, before we conclude, let me share an interesting twist. Many historians from the Indian subcontinent argue that the Vedas are much older, challenging the entire Proto-Indo-European (PIE) theory. Enter the Out of India theory (or Indigenous Aryans Theory), which claims that the Aryans are native to the Indian Subcontinent and that Indo-European languages, like Sanskrit, originated there. This theory also suggests that the Indus Valley Civilization was a Vedic civilization, viewing the Indian Subcontinent’s history as an unbroken tradition from the days of the Indus Valley, often referred to locally as the “Sindhu-Saraswati” civilization.

Enough of the theory clash for now, so let’s move on. Next up, we’ll explore the Vedic Era and its influence on our world.