In Search of Vedic-Harappan Relationship
Contents: Preface. 1. Keynote address -- search for Vedic-Harappan relationship: new perspectives/B.B. Lal. 2. Two Harappan motifs and their Vedic affinity/P.K. Agrawala. 3. The Rigvedic Sarasvati/O.P. Bharadwaj. 4. Geographical references: the ocean and Soma/David Frawley. 6. The Sarasvati and the homeland of early Rigvedic Rishis: in the light of recent scientific researches/S.P. Gupta. 7. Vedic vis-a-vis Harappan culture: some thoughts/Devendra Handa. 8. The Mahabharata and the Sindhu-Sarasvati tradition/Subhash Kak. 9. The Rigveda and Harappa/N. Kazanas. 10. Kunal excavations: new light on the origin of Harappan civilization/J.S. Khatri and M. Acharya. 11. The peoples of India and the dawn of civilization in the Indian subcontinent/Y. Krishan. 12. Were the Aryans Barbarians?/N.K. Ojha. 13. Connections between the Harappan seals and the Vedic literature/N.S. Rajaram. 15. The Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization and Vedic co-relations/I.K. Sarma. 16. Need of a new Paradigm: ascertaining Rigvedic-Harappan relationship/Shivaji Singh. Index. (Two Articles are in Hindi).
"The search for Vedic-Harappan relationship has received serious attention of the scholars in recent years though the theory was put forward as early as 1920s. With the renewed interest in India\'s past, a number of works both by Indian and foreign scholars have been published on the subject. Where as a specific group of scholars continues to be sceptic about the idea going to the extent of calling it a fundamentalist attempt, the more scientifically inclined scholars around the world have taken up the issue seriously and are gradually veering around to the view that the Harappan civilization is a continuity of the Vedic culture.
The present anthology of articles on the Vedic-Harappan Relationship is a result of an in-depth study by some of the senior most scholars of the discipline who debated the issue at length in the international seminar organised by the Panjab University, Chandigarh. It encompasses views presented on scientific lines and studies from various angles - archaeology, art, ethnology, geography, geology, history, literature, linguistics and other related aspects. The latest researches contained in the volume are sure to make a valuable contribution to the discipline and a rich food for thought to the students and scholars of the subject." (jacket)
