Essay on the interview of Indus Valley Scholar (Sanskritologist) Agha Hasan Dani of Benares Hindu University (friend of Sir Mortimer Wheeler) and his theories concerning the Indus Valley language and script.

An Interview with Ahmed Hasan Dani

An interview from January 6, 1998 with one of the subcontinent's most remarkable archaeologists covers his Indus excavations and objections to theories by good friends. An unusual perspective by the first Muslim to graduate from Benares Hindu University. Dr. Dani passed away 26 January 2009 (aged 88). Dr. Ahmed Hasan Dani was interviewed on January 6, 1998 by Webmaster Om… >

A Dravidian Language?

Q: What do you think about the theory today that the Indus language was a Dravidian language and that there is a connection between the Indus culture and today's South Indian culture? A: This is generally believed by those who are now working, particularly my friends like Asko Parpola, Professor Mahadevan, and the Russians Professors who ha… >

Cultural Connections

But let me correct myself. There is one particular aspect which does survive, not only in South India, but also in Sri Lanka. This came to my mind when the year before last I was in Sri Lanka at the time of their general election and they had a music performance. In the music performance they were having the dance, and with their drum or dholak, and it at once reminded me of m… >

An Agglutinative Language

On the other hand, I have been talking to Prof. Parpola that certainly this is an agglutinative language, there is no doubt. That has been accepted by all of us. Dravidian is an agglutinative language. But at the same time Altaic is an agglutinative language, and certainly we know that there was a connection beween Turkmenistan [in Central Asia] and this region. Turkmenistan i… >

Aryans?

Q: Do you think that the Indus Valley people could have been Aryans before the Rgvedic Aryans, another group of Aryans who had come down much earlier and created their own civilization? A: Whatever we know of the Aryans, from the literary records, in the Rgveda, the earliest book or the first nine books of the Rgveda, do not speak at all of… >

Connections to Hinduism?

Q: You don't think that there are some profound connections with later Hinduism, like bathing in the water, or the yogic figure on some of the seals? A: This has no doubt been the interpretation given by Sir John Marshall given in his book [Mohenjo-daro and the Indus Civilization, 1931] when he wrote and described the religion of the Indus … >

Evolution of the Writing

Q: Your excavations of the pre-Indus people, at Rehman Dheri and so forth, what do you think the implications are for understanding the Indus people? A: In Rehman Dheri, we do have town planning, we have pottery which shows continuity between Rehman Dheri and the Indus Civilization. With terracotta there is a change, no doubt, but there is … >