A theory that has been repeated umpteenth time is the Aryan Invasion Theory. According to this theory, India was invaded and conquered by a nomadic tribe of Indo-European tribes from Central Asia around 1500-100 BC. It was believed that these fair-skinned nomads fought a major battle with the darker-skinned “Dravidian Civilization, from which they took most of what later, became the Hindu culture.” The Aryan Invasion Theory is based upon ruins that were discovered in the Indus valleys.
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According to the historians. Aryans came to India around the time of 1500 BC, since the Indus Valley culture was earlier than this; they concluded that it had to be pre-Aryan. It was also stated by these same scholars, that the Vedic culture originated from primitive nomads from Central Asia. The Vedic culture was thus said to be warriors of Central Asian descent who came into India with horse drawn chariots and iron weapons. But no chariot was ever discovered in Indus Valley sites. Thus, the whole idea of nomads with chariots has been challenged. The question arises that how could these nomads travel through rough mountain valleys (in tough weather) with these chariots? Therefore, it can be said that the metals and wheel fragments that were discovered could come from the Vedic culture. Opponents of the Aryan Invasion Theory, point to many different flaws in the theory. Some scholars judge this theory as biased and the view of cynics.
The theory of Aryan Invasion divides India into a northern Aryan and southern Dravidian culture, which were hostile to each other. This theory also gave the British an excuse in their conquest of India. They could claim to only be doing what their Aryan ancestors had previously done, funny enough. Lastly, by implementing the Aryan invasion theory, the history and science of India was given a mostly Greek basis, thereby discarding the Vedic culture and history. The Rig Veda scripture describes its Gods as “destroyers of cities.” This was used also in regard to the Vedic as a primitive non-urban culture that destroys cities and urban civilization. However according to Dr. David Frawley, a Vedic scholar, there are many verses in the ‘Rig Veda’ that speak of Aryans as having cities of their own. He points out that the destruction of cities does not simply turn these people into nomads. The destruction of cities happens in many modern wars. Therefore, the idea of Vedic cultures destroying, but not building the cities, is based upon ignoring what the Vedas actually say about their own cities. And may later excavations had shown that Indus valley culture was not destroyed by outside invasion, but rather by a force of nature, like earthquake or flood. Most recently there have been discoveries of new cities in the Indus Valley. This may eliminate the so-called dark-age, which followed the pre-Aryan invasion and “shows a continuous urban occupation in India back to the beginning of the Indus culture.” In regards to the war between light and dark civilizations, it may be looked at in the light that the Vedic civilization was the civilization of God or the sun; therefore, they were the light-skinned civilization.
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The theory of Aryan Invasion is very interesting theory that has been intriguing researchers. The acceptance of the Aryan Invasion Theory was the easiest way for the Aryan race to implement their dominance of the world. In contrast declining it would make ancient India perhaps the oldest, largest and most central of ancient cultures. It would also fortify that the ‘Veda’ would be the most authentic record of the ancient world. Most importantly, it would affirm the Hindu tradition that the Dravidians were early offshoots of the Vedic people.