In a major setback to the colonial and Leftist historians who have been promoting the Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT), the latest research on DNA samples obtained from the Harappan site Rakhigiri in Haryana showed that there is no change in the ancestry of the human population in South Asia, thereby debunking the theory. The research was conducted by archaeologists led by Prof Vasant Shinde, Vice-Chancellor, Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute, Pune.
According to Prof Shinde, the breakthrough research has debunked AIT. He said, “This is the first phase of the research and we will carry out more analyses and researches to ascertain the Rakhigarhi’s links to history.”
Prof Shinde said, “The whole Aryan Invasion Theory was based on a flimsy ground. The skeletal remains found in the upper parts of citadel area in Mohanjodaro belongs to those who died due to floods and were massacred by the Aryans as hypothesised by Sir Mortimer Wheeler. Actually, the Harappans are the ancestors of the most of the population of South Asia.”
The archaeologists had collected 40 DNA samples of human skeletons from the Rakhigarhi in 2015. The genetic data came mainly from the skeletal remains, which were scientifically excavated from the cemetery. The selected samples were transported to a DNA lab of the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, for sampling. Dr Niraj Rai prepared two sets of libraries of each sample. One of the libraries was analysed in India while the second set was provided to Dr David Reich from Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, for further sequencing, analysis and cross-checking.
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