sarasvati

Sarasvati sarovar, Ad badri seen from space

2008-10-01T04:37:00.000-07:00

The sarasvati sarovar 80m X 80m close to Kapal Mochan soma sarovar (20km. from Jagadhri, Yamunanagar dist.) not far from Paonta Saheb in HP, is a tribute to swargiya Moropant Pingle ji. The sarovar has come up at the same spot where he did yajna in search of Vedic River Sarasvati and started on a scientific discovery process with a team led by the late Padmashri Vakankar ji.

What a privilege it is to be living in times when River Sarasvati is coming to bless us and future generations. One Jaina muni told me that we will have no punarjanmam because of this tirthasthanam. We owe it to Pawankumar, Dy. Forest Officer, Haryana who constructed the sarovar in 7 days the moment he got the nod from the DC, Yamunanagar who mentioned the approval from Hon'ble Jagmohan ji.

There is a saying in Tamil. muzhu poosanikkaaye sottile maraikka mudiyaadu (one can't hide a whole pumpkin in a morsel of cooked rice). Sarasvati heritage, viraasat is effulgent like the sun and will live as long as mahaakaala is engaged in taandava nrityam demonstrating the cosmic order of dharma.

We need to get a Sarasvati River Basin Development Authority organized by Govt. of India and reach reborn Sarasvati into Gujarat by the svarnajayanti year. She has travelled about 1000 kms. from Manasarovar glacier (Mt. Kailas) upt Gedra Road, Barmer Dist. in a 40 ft. wide 12 ft. deep channel. We need to take our children to Ahmedabad for a sacred in the dip in reborn Sarasvati there.

Last year Karthik Purnima day, lakhs visited both Kapala mochan and Ad Badri Sarasvati sarovar. This deepam has to be handed over to the youngest nation on the face of the globe. This is our kapala mochan.

dhanyavaadah.

kalyanaraman

http://sites.google.com/site/kalyan97/Nadi/adbadri.jpg?attredirects=0

Kapal Mochan mela ends in Haryana

Saturday, November 24 2007 21:24 (IST)

Yamunanagar, Nov 24 (UNI) The famous historical and religious Kapal Mochan Mela concluded as about 10 lakh devotees took the holy dip at the stroke of midnight in the three historic sarovars here.

They lit 'diyaas' on the banks of the sarovars, which coupled with the electric lights, decorated the gurudwaras and templespresenting a picturesque scene.

The Kapal Mochan fair has its roots in the age-old myth that it relieves the sins of all the three eras. As per the belief of the people, taking a bath in Kapal Mochan sarovars washes away sins which are even as grave as 'Brahma Hatya'.

The Kapal Mochan 'dham' here is also believed to have been the workplace of Maharishi Ved Vyas, the son of Maharishi Prashar and the creator of great epic Mahabharata.

There are five 'tiraths' in different directions of the Kapal Mochan. In the north is Tirthraj Kapal Mochan itself and on other sides are Som Sarovar, Rin Mochan, Surya Kund and Chandar Kund.

These sarovars are known to provide fame and fortune to those who come to take the holy bath.

The holy place has a great following among the Sikh community too, since in 1687 Guru Gobind Singh had rested here for 52 days after the Bangani battle.

UNI HS DB SR RN2121 http://news.oneindia.in/2007/11/24/kapal-mochan-mela-ends-in-haryana-1195921990.html

http://sites.google.com/site/kalyan97/_/rsrc/1222579840973/Nadi/adbadri.jpg

Seal find from Afghanistan showing a spearing motif

2008-09-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

Olaf Sprenger has reported (September 2008) a new seal find from Afghanistan showing the unique yet recurring motif of a person kicking and spearing a bison (bull):
http://www.seal-collector.de/pageID_4545804_4.html

See large image at http://www.seal-collector.de/mediapool/54/540878/images/seal-collector/Bullfight1.JPG

The mleccha reading of the motif is as follows:
Mlecchita vikalpa (cryptography): kolsa = to kick the foot forward (Santali) kola = killing (Te.)
Mleccha (words from Sarasvati civilization linguistic area) Rebus: kol = metal; pancaloha (Ta.) kol, kolhe, ‘the koles, an aboriginal tribe if iron smelters speaking a language akin to that of Santals’ (Santali) kol = kollan-, kamma_l.an- (blacksmith or smith in general)(Ta.lex.) kollar = those who guard the treasure (Ta.lex.) cf. golla (Telugu) khol, kholi_ = a metal covering; a loose covering of metal or cloth (G.)
I do not know how to interpret the pair of rectangles. The slightly atrophied sign 'claws of crab' can be read.
claws of crab: kakr.a_; cf. karkat.i_ 'female crab' (Skt.) rebus: kangar 'furnace' (Kashmiri).

The seal can thus be identified as denoting the furnace (kangar) of a smelter (kolhe).

Kalyanaraman
12 Sept. 2008

Spearing a buffalo/bull/bison: a Sarasvati hieroglyptic composition http://www.scribd.com/doc/5989643/Spearing-a-Buffalo

Spearing a Buffalo - Upload a Document to Scribd

Ancient metallurgy and mleccha writing on pure tin ingots

2008-07-02T02:02:00.000-07:00

Ancient metallurgy and mleccha writing on pure tin ingots

The finds of two pure tin ingots in a shipwreck in Haifa inscribed with Sarasvati hieroglyphs (so-called Indus script)should be of interest to scholars and researchers of Hindu-judaic studies and language studies, to unravel further the nature of the maritime civilization contacts between ca. 4th to 2nd millennium BCE.

The hieroglyphs have been read as connoting ranku dhaatu 'tin mineral'.

It is intriguing indeed that the words, ranku dhaatu, represented as hieroglyphs are tagged to the lingua franca, mleccha (cognate meluhha).

It is interesting to note the Hebrew phrase: melech ha-melachim.

Who were the meluhha, mleccha, melachim who seem to have dominated the dawn of the early metal-alloy-age? See notes on melech at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moloch Aha, early metallurgists, karmaara, kamar made these using cire perdue technique which is used even today by vis'vakarma smiths in Swamimalai on Kaveri river basin.

Dr. S. Kalyanaraman

'Metallurgy of tin ingots and a writing system of ca. 3rd millennium BCE"

Ancient metallurgy and mleccha writing on pure tin ingots - Upload a Document to Scribd

Sarasvati and Rama Setu -- WAVES 2008 presentations

2008-07-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

1. Title: Rama Setu, Vedic Traditions and struggle to protect the world heritage

Rama Setu is an abiding cultural tradition of not only Bharatam but of many countries of the world. Rama Setu embodies the quintessence of Valmiki's statement: 'Ramo vigrahavaan dharmah.' Setubandhanam becomes a tirthasthanam in the Vedic tradition of remembering the pitr-s and offering pitr-tarpanam on Ashadha amavasya day every year. The ongoing struggle to protect this world heritage has been long, protracted and tough. Active support of world citizens will make a difference and this struggle to protect an abiding, sanatana tradition will succeed.

Rama Setu tradition is a continuum of Vedic traditions defining dharma in action. Two messages are conveyed in such a definition: 1. determination and samarthyam can find solutions even to bridge the ocean; 2. to establish dharma and to fight against a-dharma, the effort is imperative. Skandapurana is emphatic that three s'ivalingas were installed by Sri Rama, one at Rameshwaram (Dhanushkodi end), one at Tirukkedeeshwaram (Talaimannar end) and the third in the middle of the Setu. Setubandhanam becomes a tirthasthanam in the Vedic tradition of remembering the pitr-s and offering pitr-tarpanam on Ashadha amavasya day every year.

2. Title: Ongoing attack on Hindu symbols: Sarasvati, Vedic language and cultural traditions

The discovery of over 2000 archaeological sites on the banks of Vedic River Sarasvati and the possibility of identifying Vedic people from new discoveries such as those in Bhirrana provide a challenge to all researchers to unravel the language spoken by the creators of the Sarasvati civilization. There is an ongoing attack from some in Western academia, on Hindu symbols including svastika and the denial of the Vedic River Sarasvati whose ancient channels have been emphatically, scientifically identified. This state of academic denial is pathetic and is governed by a compulsive motive to establish Aryan supremacy through invasion or migration scenarios. Such Aryan Invasion/Migration Theories are in fact the myths. Sarasvati is not a myth but a reality and will flow again in North-west India thanks to the brilliant effort of scholars, researchers, scientists and engineers of Hindusthana.

Title 3: Sarasvati, Vedic language and cultural traditions

The discovery of over 2000 archaeological sites on the banks of Vedic River Sarasvati and the possibility of identifying Vedic people from new discoveries such as those in Bhirrana provide a challenge to all researchers to unravel the language spoken by the creators of the Sarasvati civilization. I have posited that mleccha was the lingua franca and mlecchita vikalpa was the writing system of the civilization evidenced by nearly 4000 epigraphs containing 'signs' and 'pictorial motifs' -- most of which are hieroglyphs. The resource of an Indian Lexicon providing comparative lexemes from over 25 ancient languages of Bharatam including Vedic provide a framework for testing the mleccha spoken by Yudhisthira in his conversations with Khanaka and Vidura and the mlecchita vikalpa mentioned by Vatsyayana as one of the three arts: 1. des'a bhaashaa jnaanam; 2. akshara mushthika kathanam; and 3. mlecchita vikalpat (correctly interpreted as cryptography). Given the fact that many mleccha word occur in the Vedic texts (words which cannot be explained by Indo-European constructs), it is possible to provide a framework for language studies of ancient Bharatam and of Vedic times, which integrate language as a medium of cultural expression by a community of speakers, rejecting the language family metaphor. Many ancient texts clearly refer to mleccha as a 'language' or 'dialect'. The framework for a Sarasvati Hieroglyph Dictionary was presented.

http://www.scribd.com/full/3757859?access_key=key-xhw40e1a9nd7l66ahgy

Sarasvati and mleccha - Upload a Document to Scribd

Metaphors of Sarasvati civilization in a cultural continuum

sarasvati -- Cultural continuum - Upload a Document to Scribd

Rama Setu – heritage

Rama setu - heritage - Upload a Document to Scribd

Mother divinity: River Sarasvati, Hindu civilization traditions and metaphors created by rishi-s and artisans

2008-06-21T00:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/3509029/sarasvatimetaphor

sarasvatimetaphor - Upload a Document to Scribd

Mother divinity: River Sarasvati, Hindu civilization traditions and metaphors created by rishi-s and artisans

Hindu civilization has a unique metaphor: river as mother, river as divinity; vedic River Sarasvati as mother, as divinity. In many parts of India, the lingua franca phrase used for a river is: nayi maa, (mother river); in Ca_ran.a sahitya (the songs of bards) of Rajasthan and northern India, the word used for a river is amba_ ‘mother’, evoking the Rigvedic phrase ‘ambitame’ (best of rivers). Rigveda also refers to River Sarasvati in the following exquisite terms: sarasvati_ saptathi_ sindhuma_ta_ (Sarasvati, the seventh, the mother river). The artisans of the civilization which was nurtured on the banks of the river depicted their life-activity of smithy through many metaphors derived from mleccha (meluhha) lingua franca in a linguistic area. A river is also depicted as a kumbha ‘sacred pot’ as in kumbhamela held every 12 years in a confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvati rivers at Prayag.
A metaphor for Sarasvati river is kumbha...

Read on...

Mohenjodaro, mound of the dead; stupa as temple.

2008-06-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/3475044/mohenjodaro

mohenjodaro - Upload a Document to Scribd

Making Vedic Sarasvati flow again...

2008-06-06T02:48:00.000-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/3258521/Making-Sarasvati-flow-again

Making Sarasvati flow again... - Upload a doc

Water supply and history: Sarasvati river basin

2008-05-22T05:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/3050714/ant0820037

Mirror: http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/082/ant0820037.htm

Antiquity Vol 82:315, March 2008, pp 37-48. Rita Wright et al.

Water supply and history: Harappa and the Beas regional survey

Rita P. Wright, Reid A.Bryson and Joseph Schuldenrein

1 Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place,New York 10003, USA (Email: rita.wright@...)
2 Center for Climatic Research, University of Wisconsin, 1225 W.Dayton St., Madison, WI 53706-1695, USA (Email: rabryson@...)
3 Geoarchaeology Research Associates, 5912 Spencer Avenue,Riverdale, New York 10471, USA (Email: geoarch@...)

Introducing the methods of archaeoclimatology, the authors measure the relative locus of the monsoons, the intensity of winter rains and the volume of water in the rivers in the Upper Indus, in the region of Harappa. They also note the adoption of a multi-cropping agricultural system as a possible strategy designed to adjust to changing conditions over time. They find that around 3500 BC the volume of water in the rivers increases, and the rivers flood, implying annual soil refreshment and the consequent development of agriculture. By contrast, from around 2100 BC the river flow begins
to fall while the winter rains increase. This time-bracket correlates nicely with the brief flourishing of Harappa. The locally derived evidence from Harappa combined with the Beas survey data provide a model for understanding the abandonment of settlements in the Upper Indus and possibly the wider civilisation.

The study notes that though the Ghaggar-Hakra (Sarasvati River Basin) was once dynamic, it ceased to supply water to this region at some time in the past.

The focus of this paper is on the history of the river and its interaction with the local climate and their impacts on agricultural systems in the Upper Indus. Specifically, the study addresses the environmental conditions under which settlement and agriculture developed in the Upper Indus, in the area of the city of Harappa and along the nearby Beas river, where 18 Indus settlements have been discovered.

Site locations of Harappa and the regional Beas survey are:
1. Lal Tibbe; 2 and 3. Chak Purbane Syal; 4. Chak 90-12; 5. Kusamsar; 6. Chak 75-15; 7. Bagh Thal; 8. Vainiwel; 9. Chak 104-10R; 10. Chak 113-10R; 11. Chak 123-10R; 12. Chak 133-10$; 13. Chak 160-WB; 14. Qutab Pur; 15-18 Dunyapur Complex

Of these 11 sites were founded on the Beas river. By 2600 BCE, Beas settlements numbered 18, one was 14 ha, four were between 5-10 ha and the others were less than 5 ha.

The authors claim to introduce a new tool for exploring climatic environment of ancient cultures called Archaeoclimatology, a high-resolution, site-specific climate model. By 1300 BCE, Harappa was perhaps abandoned and at that time, only four Beas sites were sustained.

Tracing Intertropical Convergence History (ITC) of monsoons, the authors note that “For millennia, the land was marginal for rain-fed agriculture…Suddenly about 3600 BCE there was a dramatic change o higher energy stream flow with much more discharge. Increased stream dynamism persisted for 1500 years (c. 2100 BCE). If anything, precipitation decreased locally. These hydrographic changes probably promoted the development of riverine agriculture.” In conclusion, they note: “Though the Ghaggar-Hakra was once dynamic, it ceased to supply water to this region at some time in the past…The hydrographic and climatic models presented here suggest that at around the time of the Harappan emergence, stream activity and precipitation patterns underwent dramatic transitions following over 4000 years of Holocene stability. Geomorphological and pedological evidence points to realignments of channels in the immediate vicinity of the Harappa site, as the Ravi River migrated north during the Late-Harappan period (c. 2000 BCE) and soils formed on relatively stable alluvial surfaces along the Beas…”

Continuum of Indian Culture and Social Life -- Ravindra Kumar

2008-05-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

Indian Culture and Social Life
Friday, 16 May 2008, 11:02 am Column: Dr. Ravindra Kumar
Indian Culture and Social Life by Dr. Ravindra Kumar

Indian Culture is one of the ancient cultures of the world and due to certain unique features; it is still before us in its original form. Similarly, Indian social life has had an identity of its own and for centuries, it has taught many lessons to mankind. Many of these are not only important but worth adopting today. What are the unique features of Indian Culture? How it is still in its original form before us? And what are the lessons that Indian social life has taught to the human world which are important and worth adopting? Before discussing these questions, it would be better to know the meaning of culture.
Meaning of Culture:
Culture, that is ‘Samskriti’ as is evident, is derived from the word ‘Samskar’. It describes the behaviour of the inhabitants of a human society or a particular nation. It is culture that identifies the behaviour of the inhabitants of a human society or a particular nation. For example: In relation to India it is often regarded that its inhabitants are never reluctant to accept a stranger as a guest and are hospitable towards him. Indians are followers of disciplined, decent and most importantly non-violent life style. They are believers of the principle of human equalitarianism. So, the above mentioned features – honorable treatment to a guest, disciplined, decent and non-violent way of life and belief in the principle of human egalitarianism – are the basic characteristics or behaviors of people of India. When these characteristics are identified by the rest of the world, it becomes ‘Samskriti’, that is culture.
Basic Features of Indian Culture, Development in Various Faces and Impact on Social Life:
Regarding Indian culture I have said that it is one of the most ancient cultures of the world. Among other ancient cultures there are Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures but they have now lost their original identity. Contrary to this, Indian Culture has still maintained its identity. And certainly, the reasons behind this identity are the basic qualities [behaviours] of the inhabitants of India which can be seen since the beginning till the present day and which have influenced the social life here. What are these qualities or traits? We will get to know them better if we examine them in the context of the present, keeping in mind the history of the past.
Human history is traced back to ten million years. In many Indian religious texts, there is mention of a period earlier than this. Moreover the period of human development is fixed to be between 40 and 12 or 15 thousands years ago. These arguments remain between scholars and archeologists. In all these periods, India had human life, that too in its own way. But here I do not wish to confuse you with the ancient history that is not very clear, nor do I wish to confuse myself at this juncture.
It is not so clear but there are evidences of inhabitance or of social life of people in India that goes back to 5000 years B.C. or more. This was the Stone Age and on the basis of evidences, it is said that the inhabitants of India, at that time lived in tribes. They were engaged in agriculture and cattle rearing. These evidences are based on excavation and surveys conducted at various sites. Excavations conducted at several parts of [present] Pakistan, Gujarat, Tamilnadu [especially Chennai] and West Bengal print these evidences. Besides these, two things are clear too:
• Indians lived a collected life; and

• They loved non-violence.
So, 5000 B.C., Indians had the qualities of collectiveness and non-violence. And these two, certainly, influenced the lives of people. On the basis of collectiveness, the people here faced difficulties collectively and also enjoyed pleasure together. And they were eager to progress on the basis of non-violence. Let me specify that agriculture and cattle rearing are the signs of love for non-violence and collectiveness in life.
We have with us more clarity, the history of 2500 B.C., which provide us the knowledge of the life style which includes their culture and social system. This period is known as the Indus Valley Civilization. Cities revealed at Harappa and Mohan-Jo-Daro or Kot Digi, Kalibangan, Kathiawad and Saurashtra and excavations in south and east reveal that collectiveness and non-violence were present in the life style and social structure of Indians in a much developed form. Besides, planning and uniformity are also clear. We find that the cities were developed according to a plan. There were provisions to cope up with natural calamities, those too with collective means. Cattle shed and grain-houses were there. Items of daily use were in advanced state. Indians had language, script and religious philosophy. More over excavations reveal that Indians had contacts with inhabitants of other parts of the globe too. In this context we may mention the names of the cities of Mesopotamia, Turkmanian towns, Bahrain, Assyria etc.
Scholars around the globe are quite familiar with many features of Indian social life style, which include Joint Family system; custom of arranged marriages and religiousness. All these have been helpful in development or progress by collective efforts, facing challenges unitedly, nearness and feeling of unity, even though for different reasons. But now the joint families can be seen disintegrating, the custom of arranged marriages is weakening and the feeling of religiousness too seems to have been tainted. I, however, would like to mention here that 65% of India’s population still lives in villages and a large part of village population still lives in joint families. In cities too there are joint families. In India the practice of arranged marriages is still prevalent that is the rate of divorce is comparatively low. Indian people are religious by nature. Why and what is being done by certain institutions to cause its decay is not the topic here, so I come back to the issue of culture and social life of the Indus Valley Civilization. As I have already mentioned, at this time collectiveness and non-violence were present in a larger degree than before. Besides, there were other qualities too which explain the culture and social life of India:
• Constant strive towards development;

• Orderliness, Planning and Unity;

• Religiousness; and

• Contact and Business with inhabitants of other parts of the world, are the signs of the unique concept of Indian Culture and society – ‘the whole world is a family’
With their advent in India, the Aryans brought many qualities to this country. They had intelligence, skill and knowledge. Aryans themselves were proponents of unity and religiousness. Here the Aryan Culture with above mentioned features mingled with Indian inhabitants and their culture and stratified the social life too.
Much is talked about many confrontations between Aryans and Dravidians which I do not deny. But I can say with certainty that the intermingling of Aryan Culture with Indian Culture did not alter the fundamental or basic features of Indian Culture i.e. the basic characteristics of Indian Culture remained unaltered. Collectiveness or non-violence, progressive outlook or other above mentioned features, they all remained as they were. Moreover, they entered in Aryans’ lives too. Besides, the way of life of Aryans was imbibed by the Indian culture.
From Aryan life style, tradition of rites, meditation, faith and rituals started in Indian lives. The stream of knowledge burst forth. A new era began. There was much more comprehensiveness. There was introduction of philosophy in which forbearance and tolerance were supreme; the kind of introduction which even today is important. In short we can say that Dravidian-Aryan Cultures became the Indian culture. From here began the cohesive outlook which later became one of the main features of Indian culture and social life.
During 326-25 B.C., Alexander fought battles on Indian land. He never realized his dream of victory although he did temporarily win some parts in North-West. Greek camps were established in these regions. It was natural that contact was established between Indians and Greeks living in camps. Even Alexander himself was impressed with many features of Indian life style. As a result Greek and Indian cultures influenced each other especially in the war, philosophy, poetry, sculpture, architecture, theatre and literature etc.
In 232 B.C., Emperor Ashoka died. After him, Shakas from Iranian area arrived in India. After that came Kushanas and then, from Central Asia came the Hunas. All of these brought their own culture and mingled with Indian Culture. They gave their best features to Indian Culture and social life. Today not only Greek but Shaka, Kushana and Huna characteristics or features are also present in Indian culture.
Arab too started to influence the people of India by establishing their rule and by living in many parts of Sindh and afterwards in rest of India. We may say that Arabs who brought Islamic culture to India became a part of the cohesive Indian Culture, which now is a permanent part of it. In Islam fraternity or brotherhood and internal equality occupy supreme position. Additionally it has faith in one Supreme Authority. These features affected the Indians and became a part of its culture as I have already mentioned. Additionally the art, language, rites, sculpting, dress and literature etc. brought by the Muslims [Arabs] too affected the social life of Indians. The cohesive Indian Culture opened its doors to that culture also. Today many palaces, buildings and religious places are evidences in support of this fact. But I would say that in spite of being cohesive, the Indian culture never lost its fundamental attributes or form which it propagated before the world in the beginning. Whatever cultures came in contact with it, they adopted its good features, became comprehensive, and kept living though many of its contemporary cultures vanished.
Many Europeans brought their culture to India in 15th and 16th century. Dutch, English, French and Portuguese are the main among them. We know that up to 1947, India remained under English rule. It was obvious that European culture especially English influenced the Indian social life. It happened. We can mention decency, punctuality and discipline in context of life style. Along with that, we can say that the fields of education, development and globalization too were strengthened by English Culture. Geographical unity, transport, communication and political awareness too prospered. Today, all this is present in the Indian culture and social life permanently.
In India, especially the north-east, there was the influence of Monghol Culture. Not only that many others too influenced it from time to time, no matter what the basis of contact was. The basis may be trade or interchange of opinion or any other medium. But we should understand that when thousands of years ago other cultures mingled with Indian Culture, it influenced other cultures and the lives of people also. It never departed from its fundamental principles because these principles or features have been welfaristic for all. They have the capacity of patronage. That is why other cultures have been preserved in India.
Indian philosophy, system and sacraments have had influence on many parts of the world. We can see this influence by the intermingling of Indians – Greeks after the attack of Alexander. And why only then, before that too we find several examples in this regard. Then Buddhist philosophy and other religious thoughts influenced not only Asia but all most all continents. These religious thoughts are the basis of Indian Culture.
In historical context we consider many great cultures of the world. May be they were more developed than Indian culture. In this regard I can mention the name of Egyptian Culture whose some of the monuments are still incomparable. But the question is where these cultures are today? No where. They have vanished contrary to this; Indian Culture is alive in its original form and continues to influence the social life of Indians.
From historical chronological point of view, we started discussion about Indian Culture from Stone Age. In that period we found non-violence and collectiveness in lives of Indians. At that time these great sacraments were principal or main subsequently, Indian culture has remained constant for thousands of years. Subsequently, it has constantly been towards development, religiousness, forbearance and tolerance or the concept of global familyhood. Now, the picture of Indian Culture that emerges before us after the factual analysis of history is that it is:
• Symbolic of Unity in diversity;

• Cohesive or coordinating;

• Forbearing and Tolerant;

• All welfaristic; and

• Symbol of non-violence.
Additionally, searching for truth and ‘Live and Let Live’ concepts are encouraged here. It has given directions to Indian social life and directed its inhabitants to treat on the path of religiousness so that they may be able to achieve ‘Peace’, the aim of life, through continuous progress and by having their existence safe. It has been leading the way in day to day life and establishing harmony between ‘Jnana’ [Knowledge] and ‘Karma’ [deed].
Present Situation:
Recently we have bid good bye to the 20th Century. Whenever some one departs or leaves, it is but natural to recall the events associated with the departed. 20th Century is unforgettable due to many events. Remembering it we will find much that is welfaristic but also much that is unfortunate. But at the close of 20th Century, if we look at Indian culture, we find it giving the message of prosperity, happiness and eventual peace through its unique features, not only to Indians but to the whole humanity. Indian social life is influenced by these features of Indian Culture and today the world that is suffering from so many problems, facing a number of difficulties can learn a lot from it, can accept its call to consider the whole world a family.
I agree that today the social life of Indians does not seem to lead by the features or characteristics and message of their unique culture; it seems that Indians themselves are becoming indifferent to it. It too seems that probably their behaviour is being directed from somewhere else. But I am confident that this culture that is dedicated to all will remain in existence, move forward and not only inspire the social life of Indians but step forward for the welfare of the entire human world.
*************
Dr. Ravindra Kumar is a universally renowned Gandhian scholar, Indologist and writer. He is the Former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Meerut, India.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0805/S00214.htm

Sarasvati Civilization continuum and decoding Indus script

2008-05-16T01:05:00.000-07:00

Sarasvati Civilization continuum and decoding Indus script

Two presentations were made in Jammu University, History Department on 15 May 2008 by Dr. S. Kalyanaraman; Dr. Amitabh Mattoo, Vice-Chancellor was the Chief Guest and Prof. Nirmal Singh, Head of the Department of History, Jammu University presided:

1. Powerpoint presentation on Hindu-Sarasvati Civilization continuum
2. Mlecchita Vikalpa: Indus script encodes mleccha speech

Both pdf documents are appended, to be viewed/downloaded as e-monographs. More details are available on 13 ebooks available for browsing/download at http://sarasvati97.blogspot.com

Kalyanaraman, 16 May 2008

http://www.scribd.com/doc/3007303/Revisiting-Sarasvati-2008-ppt

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2988838/revisitingsarasvati

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2988807/mlecchitavikalpa

Arrow hieroglyphs on Kandiyur megalithic pots

2008-05-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

Megalithic pots with arrow-work graffiti found (April 2008) at Sembiankandiyur village in Nagapattinam district.

Reading and meaning: metal casting workshop (with furnace). The pots might have been used to transport cast metal (ingots). Cf. d.ha_l.ako = a large metal ingot (G.)

dol ‘likeness, picture, form’ (Santali)
d.ol ‘arrow’ (Santali)
Rebus: dul ‘cast metal in a mould’ (Santali)

ka_n.d.a ‘arrow’ (G.); rebus: kan.d. ‘altar, furnace’ (Santali).
s’al (arrow); Rebus: s’al (workshop).

Other vikalpa hieroglyph readings in mleccha (linguistic area of Sarasvati civilization)Read at... http://www.scribd.com/doc/2857542/arrow

Peopling of India: abstracts of genetic studies

2008-04-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

Peopling of India: Abstracts of genetic studies
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2757095/genetics

The grand narrative which emerges from these studies is clear and emphatic. Peopling of India was an indigenous and autochthonous evolution. There are markers of gene flows OUT of India. All so-called jaati or vanavaasi groups are of the same gene pool of India. This is consistent with the work, Indus script encodes mleccha speech which demonstrates the essential semantic unity of all bharatiya or Indian languages in a linguistic area of Sarasvati civilization from ca. 7500 BCE.

I shall be grateful for information on any specific, additional studies should be added to this compendium. Also, comments, suggestions and conclusions which can be drawn -- and presented in simple terms for incorporation in school/college text books – excerpted or deduced from the intensely technical nature of the genetic study results.

Kalyanaraman

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2768716/ethnicindiabasuetal Ethnic India: A Genomic View, With Special Reference to Peopling and Structure by Basu et al (Genome Research)

Partha P Majumder (Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, India), Peopling of India: Insights from Genetics in: Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2769347/austroasiaticinpeoplingofindia
Status of Austro-Asiatic groups in the peopling of India:
An exploratory study based on the available prehistoric,
linguistic and biological evidences
VIKRANT KUMAR and B MOHAN REDDY*
Anthropology and Human Genetics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata 700 108, India
*Corresponding author (Fax, 91-33-2577-6680; Email, bmr@isical.ac.in)

Bamshad, M. J. et al. - Genetic Evidence on the Origins of Indian Caste Populations http://jorde-lab.genetics.utah.edu/elibrary/Bamshad_2001a.pdf
Bamshad, M. J. et al. - Genetic Evidence on the Origins of Indian Caste Populations - http://www.genome.org/cgi/content/abstract/11/6/994
Bamshad, M. J. et al. - Genetic Evidence on the Origins of Indian Caste Populations - http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1812/18120840.htm
Bamshad, M. J. et al. - Genetic Evidence on the Origins of Indian Caste Populations - http://www.utah.edu/unews/releases/01/may/indiangenetics.html#contacts
Bamshad, M. J. - lecture at the workshop ‘Anthropology, Genetic Diversity and Ethics’ (Milwaukee, 1999) http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/21st/projects/GeneticDiversity/bamshad.html
Bhattacharyya, N. P. et al. - Negligible Male Gene Flow Across Ethnic Boundaries in India - http://www.genome.org/cgi/content/abstract/9/8/711
Cavalli-Sforza, L. L. - Genes, Peoples and Languages http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/94/15/7719.pdf
Chakrabarti, C. S. et al. - Genetic Relationships among Some Tribal Groups inhabiting the North-eastern, Eastern and Sub-Himalayan Regions of India http://f5.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/wGfUP49p_O1YCXa_nAzIEpIEVhgmoYm4V3YEOl938xJGMnckYhIyaWc_6-b-Hp45PrOVvcl3mXoTIzmsJ5GzQtyJu0s/1.pdf
Cordaux, R. et al. - mtDNA Analysis reveals Diverse Histories of Tribal Populations from India http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/Cordaux_et_al_2003.pdf
Coupé, C. & J. M. Hombert - From Africa to Australia: Elements for an Early Coastal Route http://www.ddl.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr/PDF/hombert/Africa_Australia.pdf
Das, K. et al. - Population Structure and Genetic Differentiation among 16 Tribal Populations of Central India - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8908797&dopt=Abstract&itool=iconabstr
Disotell, T. R. - Human Evolution: The Southern Route to Asia http://download.bmn.com/pdf/journals/list/search?uid=JCUB.bb9x04&rendertype=pdf&ftl_accessed_via=SEARCH&node=TOC%40%40JCUB%4013%4007%4013_07&mis=.pdf
Edwin, D. et al. - mtDNA Diversity among 5 Tribal Populations of Southern India http://f5.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/MGXQP9S2-QhMRojcMFJhzZoi1dNYR19zVf_FCj2ZQ-SLJqRj2DtmaReSOV4Dk2k_sFAB3D4bjZusYgUfaXSTGxg9OOh1/tribal_india.pdf
Gadgil, M. et al. - Peopling of India: Demographic History, Global Genetic History, mtDNA Base Sequences http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/hpg/cesmg/peopling.html
Gadgil, M. - India’s Biological Diversity http://www.ias.ac.in/jbiosci/mar2003/145.pdf
Human Races Calculator (genetic distances) http://www.racearchives.com/calc/
Jorde, L. - lecture at the workshop ‘Anthropology, Genetic Diversity and Ethics’ (Milwaukee, 1999) http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/21st/projects/GeneticDiversity/jorde.html
Kivisild, T. et al. - The Genetic Heritage of the Earliest Settlers persists both in Indian Tribal and Caste Populations http://hpgl.stanford.edu/publications/AJHG_2003_v72_p313-332.pdf
Kivisild, T. et al. - Deep Common Ancestry of Indian and Western-Eurasian mtDNA Lineages http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?holding=npg&cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10574762&dopt=Abstract
Kumar, V. and B. Mohan Reddy - Status of Austro-Asiatic Groups in the Peopling of India http://www.ias.ac.in/jbiosci/jun2003/507.pdf
Majumder P. P. - Ethnic Populations of India from an Evolutionary Perspective http://f2.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/MGXQP48ljLtMRojcdZxC8qk8jKBN2cUZzSBqGudWcfNZjdjTEgMtqw-n5qPy8tl2I-d85uHkflBcMor7giLStO077F_e/majumder.pdf
Majumder, P. P. - Indian Caste Origins Genomic Insights
http://jorde-lab.genetics.utah.edu/elibrary/Majumder_2001.pdf
Majumder, P. P. et al. - Human-specific Insertion-Deletion Polymorphisms in Indian Populations http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/ejhg/journal/v7/n4/abs/5200317a.html
Misra, V. N. - Prehistoric Human Colonization of India http://www.iisc.ernet.in/~academy/jbiosci/nov2001/491.pdf

Mukherjee, N. et al. - Population Movements from Central Asia and West Asia into India http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11988631&dopt=Abstract&itool=iconabstr
Naidu, J. - lecture at the workshop ‘Anthropology, Genetic Diversity and Ethics’ (Milwaukee, 1999) http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/21st/projects/GeneticDiversity/naidu.html
Purkayastha, P. - Ancestral Echoes in Indian Genes I http://www.delhiscienceforum.org/science1.html
Purkayastha, P. - Ancestral Echoes in Indian Genes II http://www.delhiscienceforum.org/science7.html
Qamar, R. et al. - Y-chromosomal DNA variation in Pakistan http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11898125&dopt=Abstract
Quintana-Murci, L. et al. - Y-chromosome Lineages Trace Diffusion of People and Languages in Southwestern Asia http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/AJHG/journal/issues/v68n2/002418/002418.html
Roychoudhury, S. et al. - Genomic Structures and Population Histories of linguistically Distinct Tribal Groups of India http://f5.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/0HXUPyCgksKOFjVQAZX7ZuruSGA3ilPAXERjVc3Qg5NzsMcNPlaK108oqg6odqxLMhAzr3KwwrCU1pJ7QDhD2kC3qgM/tribal_genetics.pdf
Roychoudhury, S. et al. - Fundamental Genomic Unity of Ethnic India is revealed by Analysis of mtDNA http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/nov102000/1182.pdf
Skulj, J. et al. - Relationship between Indian Populations and Europeans http://www.angelfire.com/country/veneti/SkuljRelationship.html
Spencer Wells, R. et al. - The Eurasian Heartland: A Continental Perspective on Y-chromosome Diversity http://hpgl.stanford.edu/publications/PNAS_2001_v98_p10244.pdf

http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/journey/ Journey of Mankind - the peopling of the world.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2771100/placeoftheindianmtdnakivisild In: Genomic Diversity. 1999 Edited by Deka, R. Papiha, S.S.Kluwer/Academic/Plenum Publishers, pp. 135-152 The Place of the Indian mtDNA Variants in the Global Network of Maternal Lineages and the Peopling of the Old World by Toomas Kivisild1, Katrin Kaldma1, Mait Metspalu1, Jüri Parik1, Surinder Papiha2, Richard Villems1

Sembiyankandiyur megalithic pottery with graffiti marks (hieroglyphs?)

2008-04-26T16:40:00.001-07:00

Sembiyankandiyur megalithic pottery with graffiti marks (hieroglyphs?)

Megalithic period pottery found
T.S. Subramanian (The Hindu, April 27, 2008)
Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department leads excavation
— Photo: M. Srinath

Significant finds: Pottery with graffiti marks found at Sembiyankandiyur village in Nagapattinam district.
—
http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/27/images/2008042757322001.jpg

CHENNAI: Pottery items including bowls, dishes and urns, from the Megalithic period, have been excavated at Sembiyankandiyur near Kuthalam in Mayiladuthurai taluk of Nagapattinam district by the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department.

An important finding: eight urns aligned in a particular manner, three of them with human bones inside. These might be of members of one family, according to department officials. The pottery included black-and-red ware, black ware and red ware.
The site yielded a rich collection of pottery with graffiti marks. A few iron pieces were also found.

Archaeology Department officials estimated that the pottery belonged to the Megalithic period or the Iron Age, which can be dated between 300 B.C. and A.D. 100.

Earlier discovery
The discoveries were made at the site where in 2006 school teacher V. Shanmuganathan found a polished Neolithic celt (tool) that had engravings resembling the Indus script. This celt caused a stir in archaeological circles. It was T.S. Sridhar, then Special Commissioner of Archaeology, who noticed the engravings on the polished celt. A semi-polished celt was found nearby without engravings.

The Archaeology Department decided to excavate the Sembiyankandiyur site to find out its antiquity and fix the chronology. The excavations began on February 6. Four trenches were laid at the place where the celt with the engravings were found. The first trench was laid in the garden of Mr. Shanmuganathan, the second trench at Thoppumedu which belonged to Shanmugam, a retired physical education teacher, another in the backyard of the house of Muthappa and the fourth at Padayachi Kollaimedu.
Important findings from the trenches were bowls, dishes, broken urns, full-size urns and so on. Eight urns were found to be aligned in a particular manner, three of them with human bones. Some urns had ritual pots inside. Some pots and sherds have thumb-nail impressions on them.

Designs and markings
Full-shape pots had the graffiti depicting a fish, a ‘damaru’, sun, star and a swastika. Geometric designs and marks depicting fish, sun and star and graffiti marks are often found on black-and-red ware and black ware, with the symbols sometimes repeated.

The excavations at Sembiyankandiyur were done under the guidance of Dr. S. Gurumurthi, Principal Commissioner of Archaeology; Dr. S. Vasanthi, Archaeologist; M. Muthusamy, Curator of Tranquebar Museum; S. Selvaraj and P. Gowthamaputhiran, Archaeological Officers of Thanjavur and Coimbatore respectively.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/27/stories/2008042757322000.htm

Sea-faring smiths from Meluhha, glyptic themes on early coins

2008-04-23T22:49:00.000-07:00

Sea-faring smiths from Meluhha, glyptic themes on early coins

Sea-faring smiths from Meluhha
-- Use of archer and thymiaterion glyphs on early coins encode mint-related mleccha words

-- Glyptic themes explained in mleccha

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2622203/archercoins

Against the critical edition of Mahabharata by Dr. Arvind Sharma

2008-04-23T02:00:00.001-07:00

Against the Critical Edition of the Mahābhārata by Dr. Arvind Sharma (20 April 2008)

Indian scholarship, pursuing a trend set by Western scholarship, has produced a ‘critical edition’ of the Mahābhārata. Let us take a closer look at the whole idea, shielding our eyes from the blinding glare of the Western sun for a moment.
One immediately notes that the idea of a critical tradition in the Hindu context is
an artificial concept. Can there be a ‘critical edition’ of the kind of oral transmission that the itihāsa represents? Similarly, it is futile to seek out ‘the original text’ of either epic. Critical editions of oral epics are the constructs of scholars; with variant readings and addenda as footnotes they give us an idea of the main story-line as it has developed over time in style and content. This has its uses as we shall see, but on a level which sacred narrative often transcends.[1]
The point is fine as far as it goes, but does it go far enough? The text of an oral epic is not meant to be fixed in the same sense as the Vedic text – part of the point of the epic text could well be the scope permitted for improvisation – albeit formulaic, if one insists. The text is meant to be a magnet, which draws material to it and not a crystal, which must stand in pristine purity. And if the text of the epic is thus even conceptually somewhat fluid, and actually perhaps even more fluid – then does not the critical text end up in creating a text which did not exist in the first place? Western writings on Hindu themes often carry allegations of fabrication. Has the cycle turned full circle and the misguided pursuit of Western methodology have culminated in the recreation of what never existed? One does not wish to run down the enterprise of which the critical tradition is an outcome, but such considerations need to be taken into account.
The situation gets worse before it gets better. We are presented with a critical text of the Mahābhārata. Let us now turn to the Mahāhbhārata itself and see what it has to say about it. According to the Ādiparva (I.57. 74-75) of the critical text, Vyāsa the “great lord, eminent granter of boons, taught the Vedas, and the Mahābhārata as the fifth Veda, to Sumantu, Jaimini, Paila, and his own son Śuka as well as to Vaiśampāyana. It is they who in their separate ways made public the collections of the Bhārata.”[2]
To begin with then, the Mahābhārata is plural document available in at least five recensions according to the critical edition; now how can there be one critical edition of a text with five recensions to begin with? This conclusion is a bit overwrought but it makes an important point. It is overwrought because the critical text claims to restore only one version of it – the one publicized by Vaiśampāyana.
One is not out of the woods yet, however.
The introduction of the great epic informs us that Vyāsa imparted his poem first to his pupil Vaiśampāyana, who in his turn recited the whole of it at the time of the great snake-sacrifice of king Janamejaya. It was then heard by the Sūta Ugraśravas who, being entreated by the Rishis assembled at the sacrifice of Śaunaka in the Nimisha forest, narrates to them the whole poem at he learnt it on that occasion. Even according to this tradition, recorded in the epic itself, before it reached its present dimensions, it had passed through three recitations.[3]
It has plausibly been suggested that the work grew in size with each recitation. Could it then not be proposed, in view of this, that the Mahābhārata as a Hindu text is supposed to grow and not diminish, that its telos as it is understood in the tradition is at odds with the very goals of modern text-critical scholarship and to that extent, once again, the critical text, in rendering a great service to Indology has done a grievous harm to Hinduism by trying to convert a lengthening sari into a shortening skirt? Here again the blow can be softened. It might be urged that the critical text is only an attempt at a snap shot of one stage of the growth of the text – in the time of the Gupta period or roughly around 500 A.D. Nevertheless it is clear that, at every step, the idea of a critical text seems to go against the grain of the tradition – it is an example of pratiloma Indology.
________________________________________
[1] Julius Lipner, Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (London and New York: Routledge, 1994) p. 336, note 39.
[2] J.A.B. van Buitenen, tr., The Mahābhārata (London and Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973) Vol. I, p. 134.
[3] M.A. Mehendale, “Language and Literature”, in R.C. Majumdar, ed., The Age of Imperial Unity (Bombay: Bharativa Vidya Bhavan, 1951) p. 246. Also see Klaus K. Klostermaier, A Survey of Hinduism (second edition) (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1994) P. 83-84.
http://arvindsharma.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/25-against-the-critical-edition-of-the-mahabharata/

One meluhhan village in Akkad (3rd millennium BCE)

2008-04-18T02:19:00.000-07:00

Four e-monographs:

http://www.scribd.com/full/2566221?access_key=key-1nhke8vunqc25kudd0qn
http://www.scribd.com/full/2566222?access_key=key-7qhli3mlyzcbp2f6zc8
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2566220/vidale2004meluhhavillages
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2566926/Gaddseals
Gadd Seals and MSS of Schoyen collection (Samples of Sarasvati hieroglyph collections outside India and Pakistan)

A note on Iron in early metals age of India:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2572922/ironinmetalsage

Ancient ciphers, writing system, oral traditions: 3 articles

2008-04-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2505191/cipherwritingoraltradition Ancient Ciphers, Writing system, oral traditions in India: 3 articles by Blair Moffet and Hariscandra Kaviratna

Epigraphica Sarasvati (video/slide show)

2008-04-09T17:37:00.000-07:00

Video on blip.tv

Click To Play

Vikalpa (alternative access): http://blip.tv/file/823040 Epigraphica Sarasvati (Sarasvati hieroglyphs)

Vikalpa (also mirrored at weblog): Epigraphica Sarasvati (vox weblog)

http://tinyurl.com/4uzoso

Epigraphica Sarasvati (Sarasvati hieroglyphs or Indus script inscriptions) Slide show

10 April 2008

Mirror: https://kalyan97.photoshop.com/?wf=share&trackingid=BTAGC&galleryid=e030f74d49dc4c63af38b406d3d6f9d2 Epigraphica Sarasvati (Sarasvati hieroglyphs)

Tinyurl: http://tinyurl.com/64gcec

This composition of a person seated in penance (kamad.ha) is entirely made up of glyptic elements read rebus as hieroglyphs related to the repertoire of a smithy and the professional competence/possessions of a metalsmith. Glyptic elements are either pictorial motifs (including for example: animals, pedestal, corn-sheaf, buffalo horns) or normalised glyphs called 'signs' -- such as 'rim of narrow-necked jar' or 'claws of a crab' or a 'standing person's body'.

Examples of rebus readings of hieroglyphs (glyptic elements):

kamad.ha 'penance'(Pkt.); rebus: kampat.t.am 'mint'(Ta.) [camman.am 'sitting cross-legged'(Ta.Ma.); saman.a 'ascetic'(Pkt.Pali)]
tha_ttha_r 'buffalo horns'; t.hat.hera 'brass worker'.
cu_d.a 'tiger's mane'; rebus: cu_l.a 'furnace'.
kolmo 'three (faces)'; rebus: kolimi 'forge'.
mukha 'face'; rebus: mu~h 'ingot'.
kamarsa_la 'waistband'; kamar 'blacksmith'; sala 'workshop'.
kod.u 'bracelet'; rebus: kod. 'workshop'.

(L) {N} ``^raised ^platform for ^puja''. #34282; rebus: mand.a_ 'warehouse'.
me_t.u = a heap, stack; rick, as of hay (Te.) ; rebus: med. 'iron'.
krammara 'look back' (as antelope); rebus: kamar, karma_ra 'blacksmith'.
mr..eka 'antelope'; rebus: milakkhu 'copper' (Pali)
kol 'tiger'; rebus: kol 'alloy of five metals, furnace'.
kat.avai 'leap, jump'; rebus: kad.avu 'turning lathe'; vikalpa: d.a_t. to hop, jump (Kond.a); rebus: datu 'mineral'.
ibha 'elephant'; rebus: ib 'iron'.
bara_ boar (A.B.);rebus: bhar 'oven'.
kat.iya_ buffalo heifer (G.); rebus: ka_t.i, furnace (trench)(Ta.)
khag 'rhinoceros'; rebus: kang 'portable furnace'.

Sarasvati hieroglyphs (Album)

Excerpts from notes after J.M.Kenoyer on imagesofasia.com and harappa.com on Sarasvati civilization images and a few hieroglyphs from Sarasvati writing system.
http://tinyurl.com/5pdm6p

Revival of River Sarasvati begins in Haryana (7 April 2008)

2008-04-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2436753/7april2008meeting

Revival of River Sarasvati begins in Haryana (7 April 2008)

Kalyanaraman

Sarasvati hieroglyph dictionary (Update 31 March 2008)

2008-03-31T02:22:00.001-07:00

A Sarasvati Hieroglyph Dictionary
-- (Vol. 4 of the Quintet: Indus Script encodes mleccha speech) (Updated 31 March 2008)

It was noted earlier that the Dictionary is a work in process. This is the first comprehensive update since 6 March 2008 (Mahas'ivaratri day) when the 5 volumes were published.

Updates include: reading of Svastika glyphs, endless-knot glyphs, headless-body-glyph, Bhirrana and other Sarasvati river basin site epigraphs, tree hieroglyphs, reading of orthographically identified glyptic elements in compositions.

The underlying hypotheses of the analysis of core legacy from the linguistic area of this civilization; and presented herein are two-fold:

--that the Bharatiya languages constitute a linguistic area;
--that the writing system consisted of hieroglyphs, intended to record property transactions of artisans -- smiths in particular. [cf. Seal impression from Ur showing a water-carrier and an enclosure of two brackets: () ]

This crucial evidence of the continuum of Sarasvati culture in India enables linking Sarasvati writing system -- mlecchita vikalpa with Sarasvati lingua franca -- mleccha.

Hundreds of epigraphs (in particular, those with emphatic, unambiguous, orthographically identifiable glyptic elements) are read rebus using mleccha speech related to the repertoire of mine-workers, metal-workers, metals, minerals, alloys, furnaces.

The complete set of volumes can be downloaded from:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2231843/writing
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2232464/epigraphica
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2232534/language
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2409263/dictionary1 (Updated 31 March 2008)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2232617/lexicon

This is a tribute to ancient artisans. Two revolutionary civilizational discoveries occurred in the 3rd millennium BCE: one was the technique of alloying metals and the second was the invention of a writing system.

Dr. S. Kalyanaraman
31 March 2008 kalyan97@gmail.com

Reading glyphs on epigraphs found on Sarasvati River Basin sites

2008-03-30T00:59:00.000-07:00

Reading hieroglyphs found principally on Sarasvati River Basin sites
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2404114/glyphsofsarasvatisites

Read ebook...

Reading Sarasvati hieroglyphs on Bhirrana seals

2008-03-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2386378/bhirranaglyphs

Reading Sarasvati hieroglyphs on Bhirrana seals

Photographs of artefacts and four seals discovered in Bhirrana (2005), see and read e-monograph...

Rebus readings: Sarasvati hieroglyph compositions

2008-03-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

Rebus readings: Sarasvati hieroglyph compositions

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2359086/glypticelements is an ebook on: Orthographic elements in Sarasvati hieroglyptic compositions included in http://sarasvati97.blogspot.com/2008/03/orthographic-elements-in-sarasvati.html

The objective of this ebook (addendum to Sarasvati hieroglyph dictionary) is to demonstrate that each one of the orthographic elements identified from epigraphs of Sarasvati civilization, can be read rebus in mleccha speech, and the Sarasvati hieroglyptic compositions explained in reference to mine-work/smithy/forge/mint working with minerals, metals, alloys. The pictorial motifs are so emphatic and precise, that they dominate the entire limited space offered by inscribed objects, thus relegating the ‘signs’ to a very small left-over space. Pictorial motifs are definitive messages complemented by the signs also as hieroglyphs.

Read the ebook...

Dr. S. Kalyanaraman
Kalyan97@gmail.com 27 March 2008

Orthographic elements in Sarasvati hieroglyptic compositions

2008-03-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

Orthographic elements in Sarasvati hieroglyptic compositions

The following orthographic analyses on specific examples of writing system are after Huntington, based principally on Huntington archives and Parpola pictorial corpus of inscriptions. The objective is to demonstrate that each one of the elements can be read rebus, and the Sarasvati hieroglyptic compositions explained in reference to mine-work/smithy/forge/mint working with minerals, metals, alloys. The pictorial motifs are so emphatic and precise, that they dominate the entire limited space offered by inscribed objects, thus relegating the ‘signs’ to a very small left-over space. Pictorial motifs are definitive messages complemented by the signs also as hieroglyphs.

Read more in ebook…http://www.scribd.com/doc/2359086/glypticelements (Addendum to Sarasvati hieroglyph dictionary)

Writing to encode mleccha speech

2008-03-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

Writing to encode mleccha speech (and an overview of Sarasvati civilization)

ebook download: http://www.scribd.com/doc/2362721/writingencodesmleccha

ebook read:

Sarasvati hieroglyphs from Charsadda (Bala Hissar)

2008-03-20T21:58:00.000-07:00

The reading of a glyph showing three-numeral-strokes as a hieroglyph can be demonstrated from the above seal of Sarasvati civilization. Source: http://tinyurl.com/2s7eaz

The hieroglyphs are: heifer, standard in front, three-numeral-strokes, rim of pot ligatured to water-carrier glyph.

Readings:

Set 1: damr.a 'heifer'; rebus: tam(b)ra 'copper'; kod. 'one horn'; rebus: kod. 'workshop'; kamarsa_la 'pannier'; rebus: kamar 'smith' + sala 'workshop'; sangad.a 'lathe, gimlet, portable furnace'; janga_d.iyo 'guard who accompanies treasure'.

Set 2: kolmo 'three'; rebus: kolami 'smithy, forge'; kand. kan-ka 'rim of jar'; rebus: kan.d. 'fire altar, furnace' + khanaka 'mine'; kut.i 'female water-carrier'; rebus: kut.hi 'smelter furnace for ore'.

The sets of hieroglyphs thus, constitute a calling card of a smith-miner who has a mine-pit-mouth smelter and a smithy/forge to work with copper ores and metal.

Similar depiction of the glyph of three numeral strokes occurs in the following instance of a figurine from Charsadda (Bala Hissar).

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2326987/charsadda Sarasvati hieroglyphs from Charsadda (Bala Hissar)

Buffalo horns as Sarasvati hieroglyph (brassworker)

2008-03-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2305168/buffalohieroglyph

ta_tta_ru 'buffalo horns' (Munda); rebus: t.hat.hero 'brassworker' (Ku.)

Listen also to the audio commentary on the Cylinder seal of Ibni-sharrum (Musée du Louvre, Département des Antiquités Orientales, Paris AO 22303); transcript is as follows:

Audio:
rtsp://12.151.120.46:554/firstcities_audio/firstcities_stop6.rm?cloakport=8080%2c554

Paul Collins

Look closely: this particularly beautiful cylinder seal shows us the epitome of fine Akkadian carving. As well it should: its inscription—contained in the rectangle on the animals' back—says that the seal belonged to king Shar-kali-sharri's scribe. Look at the modern impression made from the seal, and notice the muscles articulated on the men's bodies. They pour water from sacred pots, to quench the thirst of two water buffalo. But water buffalo were not native to Mesopotamia! These animals are depicted in a manner typical of imagery from the Indus Valley, in present-day Pakistan. This seal is a favorite of the curator of this exhibition, Joan Aruz:

Joan Aruz

If there is one object in this show that embodies the concepts that we have been trying to illuminate in this exhibit, I would have to say it's the seal of the scribe of Shar-kali-sharri. An exquisite work of art, miniature in size, monumental in effect, combining imagery that derives, perhaps, from the Indus Valley; executed in a style that expresses the highest artistic achievements of the art of the third millennium B.C.

http://www.metmuseum.org/special/First_Cities/firstcities_stop7.htm

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2309004/buffaloepigraphs (Buffalo shown on Sarasvati epigraphs -- or, Indus script inscriptions)

Reading svastika glyph as zinc, zinc retort distillation furnace

2008-03-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2292080/svastikaglyph Reading svastika glyph as zinc, zinc retort distillation furnace

This is an addendum to Sarasvati hieroglyph dictionary http://www.scribd.com/doc/2231860/dictionary The other addenda posted at http://sarasvati97.blogspot.com are:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2281489/treehieroglyph Tree as a Sarasvati hieroglyph
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2275868/dholaviraepigraphs Dholavira inscriptions of smithy/mint
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2275684/addenda214march2008 Reading new Bhirrana seals with Sarasvati hieroglyphs

Dr. S. Kalyanaraman
17 March 2008

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2326113/zincsource Sources of Zinc in Zawarnala mines, Rajasthan (Sarasvati civilization)

Sarasvati hieroglyphs in Tepe Hissar and search for alloying metals --

Common artistic motifs on metal in Mesopotamia, Luristan, BMAC, Sarasvati hieroglyphs (including Tepe Hissar seal finds)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2326314/luristanbronzes

Tree as a Sarasvati hieroglyph

2008-03-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2281489/treehieroglyph
Tree as a hieroglyph
-- Tree in mlecchita vikalpa (writing system of smiths)
Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/397kc7 (Part of the document)

Rebus: kut.i ‘smelter furnace’ (Santali)
Vikalpa: kut.i, kut.hi, kut.a, kut.ha a tree (Kaus'.); kud.a tree (Pkt.); kur.a_ tree; kar.ek tree, oak (Pas;.)(CDIAL 3228). kut.ha, kut.a (Ka.), kudal (Go.) kudar. (Go.) kut.ha_ra, kut.ha, kut.aka = a tree (Skt.lex.) kut., kurun: = stump of a tree (Bond.a); khut. = id. (Or.) kut.amu = a tree (Te.lex.)

The sacredness associated with the Sarasvati hieroglyphs is exemplified by the word kole.l in Kota which means: ‘smithy, temple in Kota village’. When smithy is a temple, all devices associated with the smithy assume auspiciousness, become glyphs denoting wealth, hence, hieroglyphs. The ‘tree’ glyph is one such hieroglyph of ancient times in Sarasvati civilization.

http://docs.google.com/View?id=ajhwbkz2nkfv_794gv8qmkdq
Oldest Animation Discovered In Iran -- goat and tree branches painted on a bowl Wednesday, March 12, 2008 (Animation magazine)By: Ryan Ball
Read rebus?
k

Excerpted from the URL:
http://www.chnphotoagency.ir/gallery.php?lang=en&gallery_uid=84

[quote]The oldest animation on a ceramic bowl - 9 images. The oldest animation on a ceramic bowl date back 5000 years ago which is discovered in Shahr-e-Soukhteh, burnt city. [unquote]

As noted earlier, the glyphs shown on this bowl, tree, tree branches and the jumping goat are all mleccha hieroglyphs. Hence the importance and relevance of the scene in a metallurgical/trade of metals context.

k 17 March 2008 (See the attached notes on Shahr-i-Soktha which has yielded the bowl with Sarasvati hieroglyphs of tree, tree branches and goat).

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2301608/shahrisoktha

Seal, Suse, 3rd mil BC. National Museum of Iran.

"L'art proto-élamite se caractérise par l'importance des motifs animaliers. Si le style se rapproche des périodes précédentes, les animaux remplacent l'être humain dans les activités quotidiennes, et les figures mythologiques sont animales. Ceci se manifeste dans tous les domaines artistiques, notamment dans la glyptique (avec aussi une prédilection pour les paysages végétaux), et aussi dans la statuaire. C'est avant tout le site de Suse qui a livré le plus grand nombre d'emprunte de sceaux-cylindres et de statuettes proto-élamites, réalisées sur un support en pierre ou en métal. Les animaux représentés sont souvent des félins (le thème du lion portant une montagne est très présent dans la glyptique), et aussi des bouquetins, des taureaux et aussi des sangliers."

The presence of scorpion, plant or tree, goat, bull (?), tiger (?), eagle (?) point to the probability of these glyphs being Sarasvati hieroglyphs in a metallurgical context.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilisation_proto-%C3%A9lamite

Dholavira inscriptions of smithy/mint

2008-03-13T22:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2275868/dholaviraepigraphs

Reading Dholavira sign board and Dholavira seals with Sarasvati hieroglyphs

Note: If the sixth sign from left is an X, it can be read: da_t.u ‘cross’; rebus: datu ‘minerals.
If the first glyph on the right refers to a hook of tongs, it is read rebus: kor. hook of tongs (Ko.); kut.ilika_- smith's tongs (Skt.)(DEDR 2052). Rebus: kod. ‘workshop’

Kalyanaraman

Reading new Bhirrana seals with Sarasvati hieroglyphs

2008-03-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2275684/addenda214march2008

Reading new Bhirrana seals with Sarasvati hieroglyphs
-- Addenda 2 to Indus script encodes mleccha speech

The 'fish' is enclosed within and ligatured to 'parenthesis' glyph. if ( ) is an orthographically separated oval, the lexeme evoked may be 'bent, crooked'. The lexemes related to this semantic and related rebus rebus readings are:

kut.ila = bent, crooked (Skt.) kut.ila (Skt. Rasaratna samuccaya, 5.205)
kut.ila, katthi_l = bronze (8 parts copper and 2 parts tin) [cf. a_ra-ku_t.a, ‘brass’ (Skt.)]

kalyanaraman

The antelope glyph on one of the Bhirrana seals (as part of a composite animal with three heads) has been read a mr..eka and read rebus: milakkhu 'copper'

Abhidha_na Cinta_man.i of Hemachandra states that mleccha, mlecchas’a_varabheda_khyam and mleccha-mukha are three of the twelve names for copper: ta_mram (IV.105-6: ta_mram mlecchamukham s'ulvam rakt tam dvas.t.amudumbaram; mlecchas'a_varabheda_khyam markata_syam kani_yasam; brahmavarddhanam varis.t.ham si_santu si_sapatrakam).

Theraga_tha_ in Pali refers to a banner which was dyed the colour of copper: milakkhurajanam (The Thera andTheriga_tha_, PTS, verse 965: milakkhurajanam rattam garahanta_ sakam dhajam; tithiya_nam dhajam keci dha_ressanty avada_takam; K.R.Norman, tr., Theraga_tha_: Finding fault with their own banner which is dyed the colour of copper, some will wear the white banner of sectarians).[cf. Asko and Simo Parpola, On the relationship of the Sumerian Toponym Meluhha and Sanskrit Mleccha, Studia Orientalia, vol. 46, 1975, pp. 205-38).

A Sarasvati (Indus) seal on auction : possessions of a miner-smith

2008-03-12T22:48:00.001-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2271985/addenda12march2008

A Sarasvati (Indus) seal on auction: possessions of a miner-smith (Addenda: Indus script encodes mleccha speech)

Sarasvati: Vedic river and Bharatiya civilization

2008-03-12T19:58:00.000-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2269228/sarasvatiabridged

Sarasvati: Vedic river and Bharatiya civilization

Soma, electrum

2008-03-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2268545/Soma1

Soma, electrum

Rigvedic soma as a metallurgical allegory: soma, electrum is deified

Soma, ams'u

A significant attribute of ams’u is s’ukram as noted by Rishi Atri Bhauma, devataa vis’veda:

das’a kshipo yunjate baahoo adrim somasya yaa s’amitaaraa suhastaa
madhvor sugabhastir girishthaam canis’cadad duduhe s’ukram ams’uh

RV 5.043.04 The ten express of the juice, (the fingers), and the two arms of the priests, which are the dexterous immolators of the Soma, take hold of the stone; the exulting, skilful-fingered (priest) milks the mountain-born juice of the sweet Soma, and that Soma (yields its) pure juice. [The text has only s'ukram am.s'uh = sa ca am.su'h s'ukram nirmalam rasam dugdhe, and that Soma has milked the pure juice; or am.s'u may be an epithet of adhvaryu, the extensively present priest, am.s'ur vya_pto adhvaryuh]. Alternative trans.: The ten fingers, the two arms, harness the pressing stone; they are the preparers of the Soma, with active hands. The one with good hands has milked the mountain-grown sap . . . the amsu has yielded the dazzling.

The lexeme s’ukram is interpreted as ‘pure’. In the alternative translation, s’ukram is interpreted as ‘dazzling’. This latter semantics related to ‘brightness’ is attested in RV 5.045.10 Su_rya has ascended above the glistening water, as soon as he has put to his bright-backed steeds; sage (worshippers) have drawn him, like a ship, across the sea; the waters hearing his commands, have come down. [Su_rya has ascended: su_ryo aruhat s'ukram arn.as = su_rya has mounted the bright water, that is, he has become everywhere visible, but it may be an allusion to the sun's rising apparently out of the sea].

The attribute s’ukram becomes meaningful in the context of a recently-discovered manuscript attributed to Maharshi Bharadwaja (anonymous text is dated to 1931 and attributed to the dictations of the late Pandit Subbaraya Shastri of Anekal – 1855 to 1940 CE), which is said to be titled Ams’u Bodhini as Chapter 1 of Yantra Sarvasva, followed by Vaimaanika S’aastra (quoting Lohatantra), Kritaka Vajra Nirn.aya. The text refers to tamogarbha loha (light-weight alloy), pancha loha (copper alloy, malleable and corrosion resistant to moisture and salt water), arama tamra (alloy of copper, zinc, lead, iron for light absorption). http://www.eswaraindia.org/l-a.htm

In the Babylonian Talmud (+2nd century), asemon is a commonly used word referring to bullion (gold, silver or mixed.) Leiden X papyrus (c. +3rd century) says: “no.8. It will be asem, (i.e. electrum, an alloy of gold and silver)which will deceive even the artisans (a tin-copper-gold-silver alloy); no.12. Falsification of gold (a zinc-copper-lead-gold alloy)...” (cited in Needham, Joseph,SCC, vol.5, Pt. II, pp. 18-21). “The existence of this alloy (assem) may have been the original cause for the suggestion of transmutation since by adding silver to it, one would get a metal nearly identical with the crude silver from the mine; and by adding gold, something indistinguishable from gold. [The paucity of the Egyptian language may perhaps have been responsible for a confusion. Gold was the ‘yellow metal’, and the alloy produced was also a ‘yellow metal’.]” (Hopkins, A.J., Alchemy, 1967, pp. 103-104).Metals were not fully distinguished from their alloys; all carried names such as aes, electrum etc. Ayas meant metal. Asem denoted the natural alloy of silver and gold; it also meant any bright metal made with copper, tin, lead, zinc, arsenic and mercury. Twelve or thirteen different alloys were called asem (Needham, Joseph, Science and Civilization in China, vol. 5, pt. II, p.45). Asem was Soma; this hypothesis will be the running-thread of this review of the alchemical tradition of ancient India, dating back to R.gveda. Hopkins states: “At Gungeria, in district Balaghat, 102 pieces of silver plates were discovered along with 424 copper implements. The silver was found to be admixed with 3.7% gold (...1100 B.C. - 800 B.C.). The presence of 3.7% gold in these silver pieces indicates the extraction of silver from electrum...” (Smith, V., 1905,Indian Antiquary, pp. 233 ff.; loc.cit. Bharadwaj, H.C., Aspects of Ancient Indian Technology, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1979, p. 138). The parallels with the Indian alchemical tradition are apparent: tan:kam gold in dravidian-Chinese becomes t.an.kan.a borax (a reagent!) in indo-aryan, t.an:ka gold coin; the terms hiran.yam, hema-bìjam, connote the yellow metal. The word, thong, means ‘copper’ in Thai language.

na_kam black lead; zinc; prepared arsenic; sulphur; na_kacam, tu_riyam, vermilion, lead (Tamil.lex.)

Sarasvati: A search for the Vedic River (2000)

2008-03-11T23:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2263929/riversarasvati1999
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2263195/sarasvati2000

The book, River Sarasvati: Legend, myth and reality, was published in 1999. Publisher: All-India Saraswat Foundation and All-India Saraswat Cultural Organisation, Mumbai.

The book, Sarasvati, was published in 2000. Publisher: Babasaheb (Umakanta Keshav) Apte Smarak Samiti, Bangalore. Further research results have been documented in the 7-volume encyclopaedic work (2003).

Dr. S. Kalyanaraman

Sarasvati in 7 volumes (2003). Author: S. Kalyanaraman

2008-03-11T21:18:00.000-07:00

Kalyanaraman, S., Sarasvati, 2003. An encyclopaedic work in 7 volumes [Bangalore, Babasaheb (Umakanta Keshav) Apte Smarak Samiti]

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2250590/bharati

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2250683/epigraphs

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2250755/language1

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2250784/rigveda

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2250823/civilization

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2250965/river

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2251449/technology

Harvard Donkey Trial and researches on domestication of donkey, horse

2008-03-11T18:54:00.000-07:00

Harvard Donkey Trial and researches on domestication of donkey, horse

The ageless tale of a Bhirrana potsherd; dance as a hieroglyph

2008-03-10T04:25:00.000-07:00

http://asi.nic.in/asi_exca_2007_bhirrana.asp Excavation site: Bhirrana
http://asi.nic.in/asi_exca_2007_bhirrana_images.asp Images of site and artefacts discovered

Why is a 'dancing girl' glyph shown on a potsherd discovered at Bhirrana?

Dancers are depicted as hieroglyphs on a tablet m0493 as shown below.

m0493Bt Pict-93: Three dancing figures in a row.
Text 2843

Glyph: Three dancers. Kolmo ‘three’; meD ‘to dance’
Rebus: kolami ‘furnace, smithy’; meD ‘iron’

Sign 44 (this glyph could be compared with the orthography of three dancers in a row; the glyph is a ligature showing a 'dance step' and a rimless pot). Glyphs: meD 'dance' (Remo); rebus: meD 'iron'; bat.a 'pot'; bat.hi 'furnace'.

So, why a dancing girl? Because, depiction of a dance pose is a hieroglyph to represent what was contained in the pot. The glyph encodes the mleccha word for 'iron': med.

Glyph: meD 'to dance' (F.)[reduplicated from me-]; me id. (M.) in Remo (Munda)(Source: D. Stampe's Munda etyma)meṭṭu to tread, trample, crush under foot, tread or place the foot upon (Te.); meṭṭu step (Ga.); mettunga steps (Ga.). maḍye to trample, tread (Malt.)(DEDR 5057)
Rebus: meD 'iron' (Mundari. Remo.)

Bhirrana find; the potsherd with the engraving.

— Photo: ASI sequence: The “Dancing Girl” statuette made of bronze.

The ageless tale a potsherd from Bhirrana tells

T.S. Subramanian (The Hindu, 12 Sept. 2007)

CHENNAI: In a rare discovery, the Archaeological Survey of India has found at Bhirrana, a Harappan site in Fatehabad district in Haryana, a red potsherd with an engraving that resembles the ‘Dancing Girl,’ the iconic bronze figurine of Mohenjodaro. While the bronze was discovered in the early 1920s, the potsherd with the engraving was discovered during excavations by the ASI in 2004-05.

A few hundred kilometres separate Mohenjodaro, now in Pakistan, and Bhirrana. The potsherd, discovered by a team led by L.S. Rao, Superintending Archaeologist, Excavation Branch, ASI, Nagpur, belonged to the Mature Harappan period. Mr. Rao called it the “only one of its kind” because “no parallel to the Dancing Girl, in bronze or any other medium, was known” until the latest find.

In an article in the latest issue of Man and Environment (Volume XXXII, No.1, 2007), published by the Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies, Pune, Mr. Rao says, “... the delineation [of the lines in the potsher d] is so true to the stance, including the disposition of the hands, of the bronze that it appears that the craftsman of Bhirrana had first-hand knowledge of the former.”

In his article, Mr. Rao has said the bronze was justly known for its stance and workmanship. “With its tilted head, flexed legs, right hand resting on the hip and the left suspended by its side, the bronze sculpture, although nude, enjoys a modest ornamentation with a necklace, wristlets and armlets. A statuette of 11 cm in height, it occupies a unique position in the sculptural art of the Mature Harappan period.”

Mr. Rao called the engraving on the potsherd “a highly stylised figure whose torso resembles that of an hour-glass or two triangles meeting at their apex.” Upon the horizontal shoulder line, a partly damaged round head was visible. In consonance with the bronze, “here too, the right hand is akimbo, and the left is suspended by its side. Slight oblique strokes on the right upper arm are suggestive of the presence of armlets. The lower portion of the body is missing owing to damage on the sherd. The clothing is indicated by horizontal hatchings on the chest and abdomen, and vertical hatchings on the thighs.”

Mr. Rao called Bhirrana an “exemplary” and “paradigmatic” site that stood out on two more grounds. For the first time in the post-Independence period, artefacts called Hakra ware, belonging to the pre-early Harappan period, were found as independent, stratified deposits at Bhirrana. This and other discoveries established the presence of an unbroken cultural sequence at Bhirrana: from the Hakra ware culture and its evolution into early Harappan, early Mature Harappan and Mature Harappan until the site was abandoned.

The discoveries of these periods include underground dwelling pits; house-complexes on streets; a fortification wall; bichrome pottery; terracotta cups; arrowheads, fish-hooks and bangles, all in copper; incised copper celts; terracotta toy-carts and animal figurines; and beads of semi-precious stones.

Seals made of steatite of the Mature Harappan period were found. They have animal figures such as a unicorn, a deer with wavy antlers, a bull with outsized horns, and an animal with three heads — of a deer, a unicorn and a bull. The seals also have typical Harappan legends on them. All these were found during excavations in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06.

Mr. Rao and colleagues have written on their work in Puratattva (Nos. 34, 35 and 36), a bulletin of the Indian Archaeological Society.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/12/stories/2007091255372200.htm

Indus script encodes mleccha speech (scribd.com)A tribute to artisans who invented alloying and a writing system, ca. 4k yrs ago

2008-03-07T05:21:00.000-08:00

A tribute to artisans who invented alloying and a writing system, ca. 4000 years ago

Indus script encodes mleccha speech (scribd.com)

URLs for the 5 volumes of Indus Script encodes mleccha speech:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2231843/writing
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2231860/dictionary
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2232464/epigraphica
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2232534/language
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2232617/lexicon

This is a tribute to ancient artisans. Two revolutionary civilizational discoveries occurred in the 3rd millennium BCE: one was the technique of alloying metals and the second was the invention of a writing system.

The work in 5 volumes, Indus scrip encodes mleccha speech proves the validity of the insight provided by Prof. James D. Muhly: "The Early Bronze Age of the 3rd millennium B.C. saw the first development of a truly international age of metallurgy... The question is, of course, why all this took place in the 3rd millennium B.C... It seems to me that any attempt to explain why things suddenly took off about 3000 B.C. has to explain the most important development, the birth of the art of writing... As for the concept of a Bronze Age one of the most significant events in the 3rd millennium was the development of true tin-bronze alongside an arsenical alloy of copper...” (J.D. Muhly, 1973, Copper and Tin, Conn.: Archon., Hamden; Transactions of Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol. 43) p. 221f. ) The emergence of the Iron Age (c. 1000 BCE)…’The simplicity of iron-working took metallurgy out of the palace, just as the alphabet had done for the art of writing.’ [James D. Muhly, Mining and metalwork in ancient Western Asia, p. 1517 in: Jack M. Sasson, ed., 1995, Civilizations of the ancient Near East, New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, pp. 1501-1521]."The fabrication of bronze represented man's first industrial revolution centering in the use of fire...” ." (Theodore A. Wertime, The search for ancient tin: the geographic and historic boundaries, in: Alan D. Franklin, Jacqueline S. Olin and Theodore A. Wertime, eds., 1977, The Search for Ancient Tin, Washington D.C., US Government Printing Office; See Theodore W. Wertime, In search of Ana_ku, bronze-age mystery, Mid-East 8, May-June 1968, pp. 10-20; J.D. Muhly, Tin trade routes of the bronze age, American Scientist 61, July-August 1973, pp. 403-13).

The artisans of Sarasvati civilization have provided the basis for the following examples of civilizational continuities:

Glyphs on early cylinder seals of Mesopotamia (Akkadia, Susa, Elam, Anau)
Glyphs on Gundestrup cauldron
Glyphs on punch-marked coins of Asia-minor and janapada-s extending from Gandhara to Karur (on the banks of Kaveri) and in Srilanka
Glyph s’rivatsa on Sanchi torana; glyph of kaula mengro on Barhut stupa (alligator ligatured to a mollusk)
Rock-cut reservoir in Vidisha, grand anicut (kallanai on Kaveri) comparable to rock-cut reservoir of Dholavira and gabar bands on Sindhu
Glyphs of Sohgaura copper plate
Glyphs on tin ingots discovered in a ship-wreck near Haifa
Use of lost-wax (cire perdue) technique for pancaloha (five-metal alloy) sculpture-making in Swamimalai (comparable to the technique used in Sarasvati civilization)

The mleccha-speaking artisans invented alloying of metals and a writing system. Both are related as validated in the insightful, falsifiable hypothesis stated by Prof. James D. Muhly. This is thus a tribute to savants like Muhly and to the artisans of yore who have been harbingers of the industrial age, changing the lives of people for ever.

Dr. S. Kalyanaraman

PS: The book, titled: Indus script encodes mleccha speech, is in 5 volumes (including a CD for volume 5 of 5111 pages): harc copies of first 4 volumes can be obtained from Jayalakshmi Book Stores, 6 Apparsami Koil St., Mylapore, Chennai Tel. 91 44 24990539 jibh_rkc@hotmail.com

Writing

Dictionary

Epigraphica Sarasvati

Sarasvati lingua franca, mleccha

Indian Lexicon [A comparative dictionary of over 25 ancient Bharatiya (Indian) languages]

Indus script encodes mleccha speech

2008-03-04T21:04:00.000-08:00

Mirror site for 3 documents:

http://issuu.com/kalyan97/docs/dictionary?mode=embed&documentId=080307153932-8b3e83fee48a4021b576e623e39e18ea&layout=grey

http://issuu.com/kalyan97/docs/language?mode=embed&documentId=080307155818-01cf0e3b12124c2b89918edf6d20d705&layout=white

http://issuu.com/kalyan97/docs/epigraphica?mode=embed&documentId=080307154300-091707daa3b042c09b38a081dc1e3e68&layout=white

Images of two paperweights (Obverse and Reverse)given as mementos by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)

1/5 Sarasvati Writing System, mlecchita vikalpa

2/5 A dictionary of Sarasvati hieroglyphs

3/5 Epigraphica Sarasvati

4/5 Sarasvati lingua franca, mleccha

5/5 Indian Lexicon – a comparative dictionary of over 25 ancient Bharatiya languages

http://docs.google.com/View?id=ajhwbkz2nkfv_793hrdbz4hr
Mirror: http://sarasvati97.blogspot.com/2008/03/blog-post.html

Indus script encodes mleccha speech

Organization of the work

The work is presented in five volumes, 1 to 5:

• Sarasvati Writing System, mlecchita vikalpa [554 pp. 37.3 mb] (1/5)
• A dictionary of Sarasvati hieroglyphs [50 pp. 2.98 mb] (2/5)
• Epigraphica Sarasvati [202 pp. 42.4 mb] (3/5)
• Sarasvati lingua franca, mleccha [367 pp. 11.9 mb] (4/5)
• Indian Lexicon – a comparative dictionary of over 25 ancient Bharatiya languages [5,111 pp. 29.7 mb] (5/5)

These e-books are in print. For soft copies of the free e-books, which will be sent through yousendit.com, email kalyan97@gmail.com

URLs for reading ebooks/download:

1/5 Sarasvati Writing System, mlecchita vikalpa http://tinyurl.com/23wt6f https://share.adobe.com/adc/document.do?docid=8e9ed143-ea6d-11dc-a58d-e948aa42ad45
Mirror (for download): http://www.4shared.com/file/39836143/38d299ad/writing.html
URL for download available for a week from March 6, 2008: http://download.yousendit.com/719DBF8B197D6668

2/5 A dictionary of Sarasvati hieroglyphs http://tinyurl.com/2huez6 https://share.adobe.com/adc/document.do?docid=9a5f8b5d-ea48-11dc-a58d-e948aa42ad45
Mirror: http://www.4shared.com/file/39839966/2cfe4e4e/dictionary.html

3/5 Epigraphica Sarasvati http://tinyurl.com/2ez6zt https://share.adobe.com/adc/document.do?docid=a57a8ed1-ea53-11dc-a58d-e948aa42ad45
Mirror: http://www.4shared.com/file/39841741/fda6609a/epigraphica.html

4/5 Sarasvati lingua franca, mleccha http://tinyurl.com/28j84e https://share.adobe.com/adc/document.do?docid=26785797-ea56-11dc-a58d-e948aa42ad45
Mirror: http://www.4shared.com/file/39842529/b41634ae/language.html

5/5 Indian Lexicon – a comparative dictionary of over 25 ancient Bharatiya languages http://tinyurl.com/2eats4 https://share.adobe.com/adc/document.do?docid=d44efcf5-ea58-11dc-a58d-e948aa42ad45
Mirror: http://www.4shared.com/file/39843374/be1a781/lexicon.html

Rigveda 10.71.4 notes: utá tvah pás'yan ná dadars'a va_cam utá tvah s'r.n.ván ná s'r.n.oty enaam

Trans. One man has never seen Vaak, yet he sees; one man has hearing but has never heard her.

Vaak is lingua franca, speech. The objective of this quintet of 5 volumes is to unravel the lingua franca of Sarasvati civilization using the evidence provided by the Corpuses/Concordances of Indus Script Inscriptions and lexicons of over 25 ancient Indian languages.

Brahmi of later periods is the name of the writing system, speech encoded.

This work does not enter into a study of chronologies of speech and writing system of Vedic/Pali/Prakrits/Sanskrit/ Tamil/ Munda and other languages of ancient India and writings using Brahmi/Kharoshthi scripts on early punch-marked coin. The work also does not attempt to delineate stages in the evolution of Brahmi syllabic writing system (from early Brahmi of epigraphs through Siddhamaatrukaa). The unresolved research issues have been well-documented in Richard Salomon, 1995, On the origin of the early Indian scripts: a review article in Journal of the American Oriental Society 115.2 (1995), 271-279.
http://web.archive.org/web/20060516000049/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucgadkw/position/salomon.html

It should, however, be noted that this Brahmi writing system is based on a brilliant theory of identifying and classifying sounds based on the locations of articulation from the lips/nose into the gullet.

Indus Script or Sarasvati writing system which is mostly pictorial, is also based on a brilliant, sound (pun intended) theory of pictographic writing to encode speech, a theory called rebus -- a theory based on which early writing systems such as, for example, Egyptian hieroglyphs or Akkadian cuneiform were invented and evolved.

Both vaak and brahmi are synonyms of Sarasvati of Indian tradition recognizing Sarasvati as personified knowledge. At the present state of knowledge, it cannot be said if the Brahmi/Kharoshthi writing systems were hieroglyphic derivations from Sarasvati hieroglyphs (also called Indus Script).

The focus of the work is on the early writing system commonly referred to as Indus Script and an early lingua franca called mleccha. The quintet in five volumes has, therefore, been called: Indus script encodes mleccha speech.

A personal ode, down the memory lane and a dedication

NB: An ode is related to Greek aude "voice, tone, sound," and in modern use, “a lyric poem, usually expressing exalted emotion in a complex scheme of rhyme and meter”

While attempting to present only verifiable, falsifiable evidence, the publication of this work is a tirthasthanam, in an emotional journey into mists of history of my ancestors who have bequeathed a legacy of extraordinary cultural significance for nearly 5000 years and hence, I call it a personal ode.

http://bp0.blogger.com/_UwwzmzFWHXA/R84qTvEqW-I/AAAAAAAAA8Y/As-5krqPVI8/s1600/tableweights.jpg

See photographs of two mementos (one mounted on wood and another on onyx – each 3 in. square paper-weight) which were given in 1978 to First Class passengers on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Note the logo PIA (in English and in Urdu script) at the bottom of the wooden paper-weight with a mounted copper plate replica of a seal.

The paper pasted on the obverse of these mementos states: “Seals from Mohenjodaro 5000 years old. These seals have thrown an open challenge to the scholars to decipher their worth. Indus Valley Civilization flourished 5000 years ago in Pakistan. The inhabitants lived largely by agriculture but also maintained trade with lands as far away as Mesopotamia.”

These paper-weights have been lying on my desk ever since, for almost 30 years; with the inspiration provided by a letter from Dr. BV Subbarayappa who has compiled a magnum opus on Science and Technology in Ancient India, these mementos set me sail into the mists of history to better understand the ancient language spoken and the writing system. This work is the result of nearly 30 years of intense investigation and is presented to every child who remembers with fondness the great contributions made by savants such as Panini, Tolkappiyan, Bharata, Patanjali, Bhartruhari and hundreds of other rishis and munis, who have contributed, through their tapasya, to understanding the evolution of languages and culture in Bharatam which represents the continuum of this civilization which I call Sarasvati civilization because over 80% of the archaeological sites are on the banks of Vedic River Sarasvati. The so-called ‘priest-king’ is one such rishi who wears a pat.t.a, an uttariyam leaving the right-shoulder bare. It can now be confidently hypothesized that this rishi was in the lineage of the Vedic rishis of yore, purve yajnikaah, as Rigveda notes. As archaeological exploration proceeds, more evidences will unravel and every such evidence will be tested on this touchstone of discovery of mleccha and mlecchita vikalpa framed on the foundation of Indian Lexicon including Munda etyma so brilliantly compiled by Prof. D. Stampe based on earlier works of savants such as Pinnow and Sashibhushan Bhattacharya.

I dedicate this work to all children of present and future generations and to our pitru-s, our ancestors whenever we do sankalpam and offer tarpanam at Rama Setu in Setu and Agni teertham on Ashadha amavasya day every year. This I do with all humility and praying to Vidyaa Devi Sarasvati who is the metaphor for knowledge and who is also the river which nurtured a civilization on her laps, the banks of this great Vedic river venerated in almost every ancient text of Bharatam. If I fail in communicating to the children the stunning discovery of a writing system based on sound theory, the fault is entirely mine. I owe a debt of gratitude to many savants who have contributed to decipherment of the writing system, far too many to name individually. The life-time dedication by Shri Iravatham Mahadevan and Prof. Parpola have to be singled out and this work draws on their magnum opuses – concordances of Indus script inscriptions. But for the brilliant insights of hundreds of scholars, insights which, together, became a floodlight, this work would have been impossible. My pranaams to all of them and to the late Moropant Pingley, the late Padmashri Vakankar, Shri Haribhau Vaze and Prof. Shivaji Singh who have guided me and who are my gurus.

Dr. S. Kalyanaraman,
Chennai, Kaliyugabda 5109, Mahas’ivaratri; March 6, 2008

Legacy of Sarasvati writing system

2008-02-19T00:07:00.000-08:00

Mirror sites for download/view of pdf file:

http://tinyurl.com/23m3ef

http://www.slideshare.net/kalyan97/legacy/

Sanghol archaeological discoveries and Sarasvati civilization

2008-02-09T16:43:00.000-08:00

Sanghol archaeological discoveries and Sarasvati civilization

Sanghol stupa is comparable to the so-called “circular workers’ platforms” of Sarasvati civilization.

For a stunning array of platforms at Harappa see: http://www.harappa.com/indus4/353.html

http://www.harappa.com/indus4/e5.html
http://www.harappa.com/indus4/355.html
http://www.harappa.com/indus4/356.html
http://www.harappa.com/indus2/159.html
http://www.harappa.com/indus2/158.html
http://www.harappa.com/indus2/157.html
http://www.harappa.com/walk/14.html
http://www.harappa.com/indus4/336.html Circular working platforms, Harappa

These platforms were inside houses and small courtyards as in a circular platform discovered in Padri, Gujarat.

I suggest that these platforms were used for the same purpose for which the stupa circular formations were used in later historical periods (as in Sanghol stupa to hold relics). The purpose: to hold in the centre, a pot containing precious lapidary manufactures, including alloyed metal artefacts of the metals age of Sarasvati civilization. See Plan of Vat's excavations showing circular platforms. In some cases remnants of the baked brick walls that probably surrounded each platform can be seen on the plan, although earlier and later walls are also shown. From M.S. Vats (1940) Excavations at Harappa. http://www.harappa.com/indus4/354.html The baked brick walls surrounding each platform may indicate that the platforms were within houses or courtyards.

http://www.harappa.com/indus4/357.html This evidence notes “A large concentration of straw impressions was found in one part of the floor next to the platform, but there is no evidence of chaff from processing grain as was suggested by earlier excavators.” http://www.harappa.com/indus4/359.html notes: “Greenish clay layers were found in a deep depression in the center of the HARP-excavated platform..”The straw impressions may relate to preparation of packages for exporting the manufactured artefacts.

A circular platform was also discovered at Adbadri on the banks of River Sarasvati.

kalyanaraman

Sunday, February 10, 2008

A treasure from the past

Significant excavations dating back to the Harappan period have added to the lure of Sanghol, near Chandigarh, says Seema Chopra

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080210/spectrum/treas1.jpg The remains of the stupa at Sanghol

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080210/spectrum/treas2.jpg
A raised platform containing the casket with relics of Buddhist scholar Bhadras

HOW many of us are aware that the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation stretched into and beyond Punjab? A drive on the Ludhiana-Chandigarh road leads to Khamano tehsil and finally to the tranquil beauty of Sanghol (Uchha Pind) where time stands still. Sanghol was a part of the Harappan civilisation and later a part of the kingdom of the Kushan and Gupta dynasty in the medieval times. The Kushan rulers, primarily Buddhists, built stupas for monks. The digging by the Archaeology Department has yielded objects that go back to the ancient Harappan civilisation as well as Buddhist rulers of the medieval times.

Situated less than an hour’s drive from Chandigarh or alternatively an hour’s drive from Ludhiana, it is an ideal outing for a day. It could also serve as a tourist attraction for Indians and hundreds of NRIs who visit Punjab every year.

First, a brief background of the remarkable civilisation that once existed in these areas of Punjab. After Mauryan emperor Ashoka, several groups like the Indo-Greeks, Sakas, Parths and Kushans from Central Asia and China found their way into Aryavrat (India). Kanishka was a prominent ruler of the Kushan dynasty and a follower of Mahayana Buddhism. He encouraged construction of several stupas of magnificent architecture. Gandhar, on one end of the empire, and Mathura on the other end were the two main centres of art from which developed the Gandhara School of Art and Mathura School of Art. The influence of both these styles can be seen in various relics discovered at Sanghol.

The excavated remains of the once grand circular stupa made of rows of burnt brick spread over a large area is now within a fence. The Archaeological Survey of India made a significant yet fascinating discovery of a stupa built in the 1st or the 2nd century by the Kushan dynasty. The remains of the stupa indicate that Sanghol was an important centre of Buddhism. There was a raised lime-plastered-platform in the centre of the stupa and stairs that led up to it. The centre of the platform contained ashes of Buddhist scholar Bhadras. The ashes were found in a casket whose lid was inscribed with Kharoshthi script. Now, the small pit at that spot is covered by glass to protect it. The inside of the huge stupa had three concentric walls intersected with spoke-like radial walls that formed a series of chambers created by clever mathematical calculations.

Another site containing the remains of three moats that were used for fortification has also been discovered. According to the Arthashastra, three moats were required to be dug around palaces and forts for safety from the approaching enemy.

Near the main stupa, several items of historical value were recovered from a pit. They were packed in that pit but why did someone do this is a question that is difficult to answer. There were 117 carved sculptures and other items that were perfect examples of the Mathura School of Kushan Art. Most of the excavated items were made of red stone and included 69 pillars, 13 coping stones and 35 cross bars. The stone slabs recovered were engraved with scenes from the Jataka Tales, and had figures of Yakshis. Several ancient gold coins, semi-precious stones, ivory and terracotta figurines and inscribed seals were also found by the ASI.

Nearby, upon digging another mound, remains of a large palace of the Kushan era were found. This discovery possibly speaks of a palace near the stupa. The brick wall remains of the palace enclose ‘fire altars’. Cisterns of different sizes have also been found.
After exploring the stupas and the palace, it is worthwhile to visit the museum with the beautiful garden close by. The red and cream-coloured circular Sanghol Museum, established in April 1990, showcases ancient artefacts. The board outside displays information about the excavations at Sanghol. There are 15,000 items in the museum. The master chart at the entrance gives the history of Sanghol. Each item carries a label bearing its name and period, which has been carefully ascertained by the carbon dating method.

The lower floor has an important exhibit of pottery belonging to the period between 2000 BC and 1200 B.C. The rest of the pottery display goes back to the times of Mauryan, Sung, Gupta and Mughal rulers. Also on display are toys, bangles, beads, seals, and coins — made of terracotta, ivory and metal. Inscriptions in Brahmi and Kharoshti script can be seen on a few items.

The coins are interestingly engraved with images of Shiva, Lakshmi, Nandi and monarchs of those times. The museum also displays ‘The Head of Buddha’ recovered from the Sanghol stupa.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080210/spectrum/main4.htm

About Sanghol museum, see http://fatehgarhsahib.nic.in/places.htm
http://chdmuseum.nic.in/art_gallery/ancient_indian_sculpture.html

http://www.ibiblio.org/radha/rpub002.htm The Mahaummagga Jataka in Kushan Sculpture from Sanghol By R. Banerjee

Kushana Sculptures from Sanghol (1st-2nd Century A.D.) A Recent Discovery
by Gupta,S.P.
Publisher Information:
National Museum Janpath New Delhi, India 1985
This is a very good softcover copy in stiff card covers which are faded. Very clean inside and out, but a slight abrasion to the front endpaper. Spine not creased, binding tight. Edited by Gupta. Essays by Yog Raj, G.B.Sharma, M.S.Nagaraja Rao, Shashi Asthana, Gupta, A.S.Bisht, Geetika Kalha, and Man Mohan Singh. The text discusses the recent sculpture discoveries at Sanghol.

Brahmaputra River

2008-02-09T04:50:00.001-08:00

Brahmaputra River Initial Resources Inventory

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Last Updated:2005-7-19 10:37:22

The AIRC has been asked by the Tibetan Bureau of Water Resources to develop a paper on the Brahmaputra River. The report will cover current ecological conditions, water resources, and planned activities for the area. It will also explore Indian perceptions towards Chinese management of its portion of the river.

CONTENTS:

Regional Summary, Land Use, Politics and Culture, Hydropower and Infrastructure Development, Trade and Economics, Hydrology, Habitat and Ecosystems

Regional Summary

The Brahmaputra River flows 2,900 km from its source in the Kailas range of the Himilayas to its massive delta and the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. It flows through China, India, and Bangladesh, but its watershed includes Nepal, Bhutan, and Burma as well.The river drops steeply from high on the Tibetan Plateau through the world"s deepest valley (5,075m) into northeast India where the river eventually merges with the Ganges and Meghna rivers to form the largest river delta in the world (60,000km2).The Brahmaputra basin covers 651,334 km2 (WRI), 58% of which lies in India and 20% in China.

The river is defined by its diverse terrain subject to regular earthquakes, natural disasters, and other changing conditions.

Land Use (WRI)

29% of the basin is actively used as cropland, almost half of which is irrigated. Only 3% of the basin is developed as urban land and 2% is considered barren. 19% is covered by forest, 16% by shrub, 29% by grassland, 21% by wetland, and 11% is considered eroded land.

Politics and Culture

The river"s three names, the Brahmaputra (India), Yarlung Zangbo (Tibet), and Jamuna (Bangladesh), reflect the complicited fabric of ethnic groups and international communities living along its banks. The Brahmaputra flows through some of the most heavily disputed and unstable areas in South Asia. China and India currently dispute 83,000 km2 within the basin. Much of the boundary between the two countries is based on administrative units that do not shift with the rivers as they change course or level over time. Alluvial or "char" land that is exposed as a river shifts often leads to dispute, as the land is highly valued for agriculture(CIA World Factbook, 1998; IBRU, 1999). (Click here for more on India-China relations).

In northeast India, more than 6 seperatist and rebel groups are active.(Click here for map of rebel activity). Recent riots contributed to the deaths of hundreds of Burmese and other immigrants and led to demonstrations. The northeast is one of the poorest regions in India. Currently population density, on average, is 174 people per square mile, but this population is concentrated in 14 large cities in the region. Urban areas are growing at 5% a year (WRI). The Brahmaputra basin has seen a surge in millions of people immigrating to the area from Bangladesh and West Bengal. Increasing densities have led to competition for jobs and land. In 1999, 500 people died from ethnic violence in Northeast India (US Commission on Refugees). In the mid 1960s the Indian government relocated 3,000 ethnic Chakmas to Arunachal Pradesh from what is now Bangladesh after construction of a large dam. The influx has caused conflict in this state.

In the ancient Indian tradition, two rivers are known to originate from Manasarovar Lake, in Mt. Kailas; one flowing to the east is called Brahmaputra and the other flowing to the west was called Shatadru, a tributary of the Sarasvati (joining the latter at Shatrana, Punjab) in Rigvedic times. Both these major rivers, Brahmaputra and Sarasvati are related to the God of creation, Brahma. The lower portion of the river is sacred to Hindus.

Hydropower and Infrastructure Development

In 1980, the Indian government established the Brahmaputra Board as a statutory body under the Ministry of Water Resources to plan for and implement projects to harness the river for hydropower, flood control, and economic development.The Board has identified 34 "Drainage Development schemes" that include hydropower dams, embankment reinforcement, and other multipurpose projects. These projects are included in the Board"s Master Plan, approved by the Indian government in 1997.Currently there are no large dams on the Brahmaputra. (Click here for project descriptions).

It is estimated that the Brahmaputra"s power potential could provide about 48000 MW. This constitutes as much as 30 per cent of the total hydropower reserves of India, but less than even 3 per cent of this has yet to be harnessed.

Trade and Economics

The river is navigable for large crafts 1,290 km upstream from the Bay of Bengal to Dibrugarh, India.The lower portions of the river are used heavily to transport agricultural products. A major earthquake in 1950 (magnitude 8.7 on the Richter scale) and disputes over water rights impeded further access upstream. The Brahmaputra Valley in Assam has marshy jungle, teak forest, and commercial fisheries; rice, jute, tea, and sugarcane are grown there as well. In Tibet, the river forms and important east-west transportation route.

There currently exisits a rapidly growing trade relationship between India and China. Both Indian exports and imports through China have grown tremendously since 1999.

Hydrology

The Brahmaputra"s flows fluctuate drastically between high and low flows. High flows, peaking in mid June, can run at 72,460 m3/s (1962 flood). The mean annual flood discharge of the river is 48,160 m3/sec at Pandu (India). Its minimum recorded dry-season flow was only 3,280 m3/s in 1960.

The average annual rainfall in the basin is 230 cm with a marked variability in distribution over the watershed. Rainfall in the lower Himalayan region amounts to more than 500cm per year with higher elevations getting progressively lesser amounts. The rainfall intensity occassionally records exceedingly high rates causing flash floods, landslides, debris flow and erosion.

The rains begin in May or early June, and the wet season lasts to October. From June to September, the rains occur nearly daily. A period of fluctuating high flow follows, usually with peaks in July and September. The last peak is followed by a long recession into December and January.

During the rainy season there, the river often floods to 8 km wide, rising 9-12 m and depositing sediment carried down from the mountains.

Habitat and Ecosystems

Over 73% of the Brahmaputra River watershed"s originial forest is gone. The remaining forests are disappearing at 10% per year. Currently only 4% of the land is in protected areas. The area supports 4 endemic bird habitats and one RAMSAR-listed wetland.126 fish species also call the Brahmaputra basin home (WRI).

(The following is excerted from http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/im/indo_ref.html) - World Wildlife Fund)

The ecoregion covering the Brahmaputra River in northeast India harbors India"s largest elephant population (Rodgers and Panwar 1988), the world"s largest population of the greater one-horned rhinoceros, tigers (Panthera tigris), and wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) (WII 1997). The ecoregion overlaps with a high-priority (Level I) ecosystem that extends north to include the subtropical and temperate forests of the Himalayan midhills (Wikramanayake et al. 1999).

The known mammal fauna consists of 122 species, including 2 near-endemic species. Of these, the pygmy hog and the hispid hare are confined to the grassland habitats.

At present, twelve protected areas cover about 2,500 km2 of intact habitat, or 5 percent of the ecoregion. Of these, Manas, Dibru-Saikowa, Kaziranga, and Mehao are the larger and more important reserves. Mehao extends over two other ecoregions and is only partially within this ecoregion. Kaziranga has the world"s largest population of the greater one-horned rhinoceros, estimated at 1,100 individuals (Foose and van Strien 1997). Because of the large number of wide-ranging large vertebrates in this ecoregion, additional protection is urgently needed. Specifically, habitat connectivity should be provided within the Buxa-Manas complex and the Barail-Intanki-Kaziranga complex to allow elephants to disperse and migrate (Rodgers and Panwar 1988).

The ecoregion represents the swath of semi-evergreen forests along the upper Brahmaputra River plains. Most of the ecoregion lies within the eastern Indian state of Assam, but small sections extend into the neighboring states of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland and also into the southern lowlands of Bhutan.

The wide Brahmaputra River is also a biogeographic barrier for several species. For instance, the golden langur (Semnopithecus geei), hispid hare (Caprolagus hispidus), and pygmy hog (Sus salvanius) are limited to the north bank of the river, whereas the hoolock gibbon (Hylobates hoolock) and stump-tailed macaque (Macaca arctoides) are limited to the south bank (Rodgers and Panwar 1988).

The June to September southwest monsoon is funneled through the Gangetic River plains, flanked by the Himalayas to the north and the Mizo Hills to the south, deluging the ecoregion with 1,500-3,000 mm of rainfall, depending on the topographic variation. The substrate consists of deep alluvial deposits, washed down over the centuries by the Brahmaputra and other rivers such as the Manas and Subansiri, which drain southern slopes of the Eastern Himalaya. The ecoregion"s vegetation therefore is thus influenced by the rich alluvial soils and the monsoon rains.

Champion and Seth (1968) recognize the following forest types in this ecoregion: Assam Valley semi-evergreen forest, Assam alluvial plains semi-evergreen forest, eastern submontane semi-evergreen forest, sub-Himalayan light alluvial semi-evergreen forest, eastern alluvial secondary semi-evergreen forest, sub-Himalayan secondary wet mixed forest, and Cachar semi-evergreen forest. But most of the ecoregion"s original semi-evergreen forests have been converted to grasslands by centuries of fire and other human influences. Only small patches of forests now remain, scattered along the Indo-Bhutan border and along the border of Assam and Meghalaya. Many of these forest patches are confined to protected areas.

According to Champion and Seth (1968), the typical evergreen tree species in these forests are Syzygium, Cinnamomum, Artocarpus, and Magnoliacea, and the common deciduous species include Terminalia myriocarpa, Terminalia citrina, Terminalia tomentosa, Tetrameles spp., and Stereospermum spp. Shorea robusta is present in disturbed habitats, especially in areas that have been subjected to fire, and represents a sub-climax community. Other Dipterocarpus species are considered to be indicative of a forest in retrogression from the tropical evergreen or as a preclimax stage. Typically, the canopy trees are 20-30 m high.

The understory is of Lauraceae (mostly Phoebe spp., Machilus spp., and Actinodaphne spp.), Anonaceae (Polyalthia spp.), Meliaceae (Aphanamixis spp.), Mesua ferrea, Tetrameles spp., Stereospermum spp., and species of Meliaceae, Anacardiaceae, Myristicaceae, Lauraceae, and Magnoliaceae, with several bamboos such as Bambusa arundinaria, Dendrocalamus hamilitonii, and Melocanna bambusoides (Champion and Seth 1968; Puri et al. 1989).

The riparian areas along the Brahmaputra River that have been cleared are characterized by wet grasslands with similar communities and dynamics as described under the Terai-Duar Savanna and Grasslands [IM0701] description. Species such as the hispid hare and pygmy hog are found in these grasslands, especially in the soft soils and muddy areas along the river courses.

http://www.lancang-mekong.org/shownews.asp?id=654

Sarasvati Nadi, Haryana from village revenue records -- Khera Kalan to Bahri

2008-02-09T01:59:00.001-08:00

Sarasvati Nadi, Haryana from village revenue records -- Khera Kalan to Bahri

The revenue records have been painstakingly compiled thanks to the brilliant initiative of Sarasvati Nadi Shodh Sansthan, Haryana under the Presidentship of Shri Darshan Lal Jain. These records obtained from village patwaris are conclusive evidence for the River Sarasvati which is also shown in Survey of India toposheets.

Sarasvati Sarovar, Adbadri, Haryana

2008-02-08T13:20:00.000-08:00

Adbadri, Somb Nadi

Deep gorge between ancient channel of River Sarasvati and Somb Nadi at Adbadri, Haryana showing the tell-tale signs of a tectonic event which resulted in the migration of the river into Somb Nadi.

Another view of the deep gorge at Adbadri, Haryana showing the tell-tale signs of a tectonic event which resulted in the migration of the river into Somb Nadi.

Sarasvati Sarovar 80m. square which has now become a tirthasthanam at Adbadri; glacial waters are harvested through 11 check-dams built by the Forestry Dept. (Mr. Pawan Sharma, Forest Officer), Haryana.

The valley between Sarasvati Nadi and Somb Nadi, at Adbadri, Haryana

Gomukh, Sarasvati Sarovar, Adbadri, Haryana (as glacial waters emerge into the plains)

Sarasvati Sarovar nameplate at the Gomukh, Adbadri, Haryana

Vedic Saravati channel at Bhorsaidon and Reborn Sarasvati, Rajasthan

2008-02-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

Vedic Saravati channel at Bhorsaidon and Reborn Sarasvati, Rajasthan

Sarasvati Mahanadi Roopaa Nahar (Reborn Sarasvati in Rajasthan taking off from Harike Reservoir of Bhakra-Nangal dam, managing the waters from Manasarovar glacier, Mt. Kailas).

Waterlogging at Lohgad village of Sarsa district in Haryana http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2212/stories/20050617000507700.htm

It is imperative to ensure an effective surface and sub-surface drainage system in North-west Bharatam. Revival of River Sarasvati in Haryana between Mustafabad and Murtzapur is a first good step in this direction.

Bhakra dam and Indian Canals on the Indus River Tributaries Courtesy: Bhakra Beas Management Board http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/SRR/Volume13/sridhar.html

Agroha mound (Sarasvati civilization)

Rakhigarhi pot (Sarasvati civilization)

About Bhorsaidan

About 8 miles (13 kilometres) to the west of Thanesar towards Pehowa lies the Bhurirava Tank. Tradition associates the Place with treacherous murder of Bhurirava by Arjuna during the Mahabharata war. Bhurisrava was son of Somadaatta, Raja of Varanasi.The village is named Bhor after him. This small village is situated on an ancient mound. The houses are built of old large size bricks of 12 3/4"x9 1/2"x2".

http://kurukshetra.nic.in/tourist/tourism.htm#bhor

A few archaeological sites which have yielded various objects of interest and a distinctive class of pottery known as the Painted Grey Ware (PGW) are Raja Karan Ka Tila, Asthipura, Bhor Saidan, Bhagpura and Daulatpur.

Rakhigarhi (Hissar district) 29.17N - 76.07E

Today, the 5000 year old history of our civilization is on the threshold of being rewritten. Recent excavations at Rakhi Garhi in Hissar district of Haryana may push the history of the civilization back by over a thousand years. This site could again bring to front, questions about the Vedic Civilization and its relationship to the Indus Valley civilization. Archaeologists and historians are already excited about the findings from Rakhigarhi - a large site on the banks of, what is now believed to be, the dried bed of Saraswati river. Senior archaeologists consider this to be no ordinary Harappan site. They say the findings have already started showing new civilization contours.

Banawali (Fatehbad district) 29.36N - 75.25E

Banawali is a Pre Harappan and Harappan site. At Banawali, evidence of ploughed fields has been found. Large quantity of barley and evidence of growing of sesame and mustard have also been found. The use of wooden plough for ploughing the fields were prevalent. The mound in Banawali, 15 kms from Fatehbad, reveals a fortified town (BC 2500 – 1700).

Kunal (Fatehbad district) 29.38N - 75.43E

Kunal seems to be a Pre Harappan site. Two silver crowns presumably worn by the King and queen along with gold and silver jewellery has been found here in an earthen jar. This is the first time that a regal crown has been found in the subcontinent. This site brings to light that the Harappans went through three stages of development; from pit houses to regular rectangular and square dwellings above the surface.

Agroha (Hissar district)

The Agroha mound goes back to the 3rd century BC and is where Harappan coins were discovered apart from stone sculptures, terracotta seals, iron and copper implements, shells and a host of other things.

Mittathal (Bhiwani district) 28.52N - 76.11E

At this site, three phases of Harappan culture have been found.

Naurangabad (Bhiwani district)

Remains of a town about 2500 year old have been found here.

Rakhigarhi is about to rewrite the 5000 year old history of our civilization. Recent excavations at Rakhigarhi in Hissar district of Haryana may push the history of the civilization back by over a thousand years. It could change the commonly held view about the Indus Valley civilization, as Rakhigarhi is situated on the bank of the now dry, Saraswati river. Archaeologists and historians are excited about the findings from Rakhigarhi, the largest Indus Valley site after Mohenjodaro. Archaeologists consider this to be no ordinary Harappan site and say it is the most important of all the archaeological sites of India. The unearthed clues may yield answers to many unanswered questions. Rakhigarhi findings have already started showing new civilization contours. The area and dimensions of the site are far wider than assessed by archaeologist Raymond and Bridget Allchin and J M Kenyer. It is 224 hectares, the largest in the country.

In size, dimensions strategic location and unique significance of the settlement, Rakhi Garhi matches Harappa and Mohenjodaro at every level. Three layers of Early, Mature and Late phases of Indus Valley civilization have been found at Rakhi Garhi. What has so far been found indicates that Rakhi Garhi settlement witnessed all the three phases.

The site has trick deposits of ‘Hakra Ware’ (typical of settlements dating back before the early phases of Indus Valley). ‘Early and ‘Mature’ Harappan artifacts. The solid presence of the Hakra Ware culture raises the important question: "Did the Indus civilization come later than it is recorded?" The Hakra and the Early phases are separated by more than 500-600 years and the Hakra people are considered to be the earliest Indus inhabitants. Although the carbon-14 dating results are awaited, based on the thick layers of Hakra Ware at Rakhi Garhi, it is said that the site may date back to about 2500 BC to 3000 BC. This pushes the Indus Valley civilization history by a thousand years or more. While this site came to light in 1963 excavations at Rakhigarhi started only in 1997.

Had excavations started 70 years earlier, when Harappa and Mohenjodaro were uncovered, the story would have been different. Fossils indicate that the Harappan man reared cattle. The findings are startling. Rakhi Garhi was settled on the banks of a river Dhrishdwati, which was a tributary of the river Saraswati. Copper fishing hooks and woven nets found at the site affirms the river’s existence nearby. It is thought that the people living in this city traded with other people using this river for navigation.

The site’s antiquities, drainage system and signs of small-scale industry are in continuity with other Indus sites. All this adds one more dimension to the whole debate on Indus civilization. Many feel that since this site is situated on the Saraswati river, it is more likely connected to the Vedic civilization. All this only add to the enigma called Indus civilization, rich in facts, richer still in speculation. What stands out from the churning debate is the fact that much more perhaps still remains shrouded in the folds of the past centuries. The real and very important part played by Haryana in India's history is yet to be fully understood.

Digging so far reveals a well planned city with 1.92 m wide roads. Pits surrounded by walls have been found, which are thought to be sacrificial pits or for some religious ceremonies. Which shows fire was used extensively in their religious ceremonies. There are brick lined drains to handle sullage from the houses. Among other things that have been found are, terracotta statues, weights, bronze artifacts, combs, needles and terracotta seals. A bronze vessel has been found which is decorated with gold and silver. A gold foundry with about 3000 unpolished semi-precious stones has been found. Many tools used for polishing these stones and a furnace were found there. A burial site has been found with 11 skeletons with their heads in the north direction. Near the heads of these skeletons, utensils for everyday use are kept. The three female skeletons have shell bangles on their left wrists. Near one female skeleton, a gold armlet has been fond. In addition semi precious stones have been found lying near the head, showing that they were part of some sort of necklace.

Banawali Mound, previously called Vanawali, lies 14 km, north-west of Fatehbad on the right bank of the Rangoi Nala, 29° 37" 5' north latitude and 75° 23",6' cast longitude. This ancient mound spread over an area of one sq km, rose to a height of about 10 meters due to successive settlements on the earlier rubble.

The archaeological excavations done here by the Department of Archaeology, Haryana have revealed a well constructed fort town of the Harappan period overlying an extensive proto-urban settlement of the pre-Harappan culture. If the discovered ancient relics are pieced together, a fairly coherent picture emerges and it can be conjured up that if Kalibangan was a metropolitan town over the lower middle valley of the Saraswati, Banawali was possibly one over the upper middle course of that river.

The pre-Harappan age (2800 BC - 2300 BC) and Harappan era (2300 BC - 1800 BC) combined are called the Indus valley civilization, while the preceding Vedic age (4000 BC - 2800 BC) can be called the Saraswati valley civilization.

The era of pre-Harappan period (2703 BC - 2300 BC) is characterized by the typical pottery, settlement pattern and architecture. A wide range of to those found at Kalibangan in Rajasthan, illustrates the developed ceramic art of the settlers here. Banawali seems to have been abandoned by 1900 BC with the drying up of Saraswati.

A rich variety of shapes and designs speaks highly of the level of their socioeconomic existence and their aesthetic taste. The houses were built roughly along cardinal directions and points to definite town planning. Constructed usually of mould-made bricks, we find, occasionally, structures made of kiln-baked bricks. The civilization seems to have been conversant with the technology of copper smelting. Among personal ornaments, beads of gold, semi-precious stones, terracotta and steatite and bangles of clay, shell, faience and copper have been. recovered during the course of excavation. The overall picture presents a fair degree of advancement - achieved by the pre-Harappans by the middle of the - 3rd millennia B.C.

While the pre-Harappan culture was still young, a new set of people occupied Banawali. They soon built a well planned and fortified township in the classical chessboard pattern. The broad arterial streets, running from north to south, have been found straight and uninterrupted, whereas those, running from east to west, were usually narrow and staggered. This planning, perhaps protected the, town from the blistering winds of the west and. severe monsoon, rains of the south-west.

The town seems to be divided in two sub-joined fortified areas, one separated from the other by a 6-7 meter thick wall running centrally across the mound from north to south. A narrow opening, provided through the defense wall in the center of the mound, was, perhaps meant for communication between the two parts of the city blocks, of which the better fortified western side was dominated by the elite, while the commoners and business communities lived in the eastern wing. This gate was guarded by a massive, square bastion.

Planned mud-brick houses, with several rooms, a kitchen, a toilet, etc. are found built on either side. of the roads and lanes. Their sanitary arrangements depended on the use of sanitary pottery jars which served as washbasins, as also for soakage purposes. Except in a few places, which demanded constant use of water, structures were usually made of sun baked bricks meticulously molded into various sizes. Numerous household items like ovens, hearths, tandoors and blades made of chert and other stones, and sophisticated, ceramics known for their fanciful shapes have been excavated. The principal kinds of pottery recovered included vases, fruit stands, chalice cups' handled clips, 'S-shaped jars' perforated jars, cooking handis, beakers, basins, rooters, etc:

Among painted motifs, peacocks, Pipal and banana leaves, trees, deer, 'stars, fish, flowers, intersecting circles, checker-board patterns and honeycomb patterns are of special -interest. It is noteworthy that the pre-Indus ceramic tradition, continues here throughout, whereas at Kalibangan, it dies out, half-way through. The Harappan seals recovered here depict a rhinoceros, ibex, wild goat, unicorn, - a composite animal with a tiger's body and horns and the cubical weights and gamesman type of weights made of stones and ivory or bone reveal a great degree of precision and superb craftsmanship of the Harappan artists.

Gold, copper and bronze pieces found here indicate that they had a profound knowledge of metallurgy. Among ornaments have been found beads of gold, copper, agate, carnelian, Lapis lazuli, faience, shell, bone and clay, bangles of copper, faience shell and terracotta, and pipal leaf shaped ear rings of faience.

Certain figurines of mother Goddess and the like suggest that the Harappans were very fond of decorating their persons with elaborate headgear, ear rings, necklaces, garlands, etc. Copper and bronze were used for weapons and tools as also for ornaments and items included arrows, spearheads, razor blades, chisels, fish hooks, beads, rings, bangles, antimony rods, wires and hair pins. Iron, however, was not known to them. Terracotta figurines of bulls, buffaloes, deer, dogs, rhinoceros and. birds are not only the evidence of their folk art tradition, but also throw welcome light on the fauna of those bygone days.

This site is one of most important archaeological sites of Haryana. It has attracted the attention of Indian archaeologists and in importance, it rivals Kotdljl and Chanhuo (Sind-Pakistan). Kalibangan (Rajasthan), Surkotda and Lothal (Gujarat), RakhiGarhi (district Hissar) and Mittathal (Bhiwani district).

Kunal is a small 'rural' site, an archaeological 'village' as compared to 'towns' like Lothal and Kalibangan and 'cities' like Rakhigarhi. Its on the bank of the dried Saraswati in the Fatehbad district of Haryana. The artifacts unearthed in Kunal have not been seen before at a pre-Harappan site. The artifacts include seals, terracotta cakes, script and natural motif. Kunal pottery depicts Harappan letters. Natural motif with both monochrome and bio chrome have been found. This implies a transition from pre-Harappan culture to the full mature Harappan culture.

Some archaeologists even think that the pre-Harappan culture of Kunal and the Vedic culture are one and the same. They give the example of triangle shaped terracotta cakes which they say are the symbol of fertility in Rig Veda. A painting with a horse and pipal motif, found in Kunal, are both associated with the Vedic civilization. Further Kunal is situated on the banks of the dried Saraswati river which is mentioned in the Rig Veda.

Kunal has three distinctive phases of the pre-Harappan culture. In the earliest people lived in pits. In the second, molded mud bricks were used to line the dwellings. In the third phase bricks were used to make square and rectangular houses. Two silver crowns have also been found in Kunal, one a little smaller than the other. They may have been used by the king or an elected headman and his consort.

Other jewellery found there include two tiaras, an armlet, a necklace, copper bangles, six disc-shaped gold beads and more than 10,000 beads of semi-precious stones like carnelian, agate, steatite and lapis lazuli.

Kunal has added to the growing number of archaeological sites in Haryana.

Agroha is situated in Hissar district of Haryana. In it lies buried the remains of the capital of the Agroha State consisting of 18 state units. The residents of this states were known as Yodhya and Agraya. Writings on the coins that have been excavated from the ancient site read as 'Yodhyanam Bahu Dhanya Kanam','Yodhya Ganasya Jaya', 'Yodhyanam Jaimantra Shalinam'. According to Dr. Satyaketu Vidyalankar the ancient Agroha town existed some 100 years before the Kushan dynasty. The Agroha State was renowned for its prosperity. However over time it could not stand the foreign invasions of Greeks, Yavanas and Hunas, who invaded north India disintegrating various kingdoms in Punjab.

The disintegrated Agroha led to the migration of the Agroha residents to other parts of India like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Malwa, however they got a common name Aggarwals which means AGROHA-WALE. It is apparent from the excavations that below the mounds existed a big, well planned and progressive town. The excavation was restarted in the year 1938-39, though this could not be carried on for long due to World War II, but it provided major input about Agroha's existence. In 1978-79 the Archaeological Department of Haryana Government began excavation work under the guidance and supervision of Mr. J. S. Khatri and Mr. Acharya.

The Agroha mound now has the Agroha Temple Complex on one side and the Sheela Mata Temple on the other. The Agroha Medical College faces it across the road. Some of the materials collected from the excavated site:

Coins: Large number of coins have been found at the excavated site. The coins are predominantly of silver & bronze in different shapes and sizes. The script and signs on the coins depict that they belong to different periods. The bronze coins have "Agadke, Agach, Janpads" in prakrit language inscribed on them. A coin dated 200 BD called die struck or counter struck has been found besides Roman, Kushana, Yodhaya and Gupta dynasty coins.

Seals: The seals that have been found at Agroha have been inscribed with words like "Pitradutt", "Sadhu Vridhasya", "Shamkar Malasya", "Madrsya" etc.

Artifacts: From the excavation site many statutes made of stone and sand have been unearthed. Masks, Terracotta Animals and Toys have been found. Utensils belonging to 2nd century BC in black, brown and red polish have also been discovered.

Naurangabad Mound is near the village of Naurangabad, about 10 km from the Bhiwani town in Bhiwani district, Haryana. This mound came to the notice of the government in the early eighties when children playing there found old coins after rains washed away the top soil. Some of these coins were thought to be of Kushan and Gupta periods and are displayed in a museum in Jhajjar Gurukul. In 1985, this mound was taken over by the government and handed over to the Archaeological Department. The total area of the mound taken over by the government is 58 acres. The mound is now maintained by a sub-office of the Archaeological Department situated in Hissar.

Digging was started in February, 2001 and continued for three months. It was discontinued due to the onset of summer and it is set to resume in October, 2001.

In this preliminary digging, artifacts up to 2500 years old have been found. Among the artifacts found are coins, tools, sieves, toys, statues and pots. According to the archeologists the presence of coins, coin moulds, statues and design of the houses, suggests that a town existed here sometimes in the Kushan, Gupta and the Youdheya period till 300 BC. During the Youdheya period, the coins had seals of religious figures and these coins were cast in moulds.

Remains of houses made of mud bricks as well as baked bricks have been found. The walls are 18 inches to 24 inches thick. The floor is lined with baked bricks and the size of the bricks is approximately 18" by 9" by 3". People from the nearby village have been using these bricks for constructing their own houses. This practice was stopped after the mound was reserved in 1985.

Saraswati River is believed to have drained the north and northwest region of India, including Haryana and Punjab, in ancient times, supporting a large number of settlements. There are numerous references to the river Saraswati in the ancient Indian literature of the Vedic and post-Vedic period. Rig Veda, the most ancient of the four Vedas, describes Saraswati as a mighty river with many individually recognized tributaries. The sacred book calls Saraswati as the seventh river of the Sindhu-Saraswati river system, hence the name 'Saptsindhu' for the region bounded by rivers Saraswati in the east and Sindhu (Indus) in the west. Rig Veda hymns also describe life and times of the people residing in the Saraswati river valley. Rig Veda describes Saraswati as Ambitamé, the best of the mothers; Naditamé, the best of the rivers; and Devitamé, the best of the goddesses. Ancient sites in Kunal and Banawali, in district Fatehbad, has been found on the banks of the dried river bed of Saraswati.

Saraswati is believed to have originated from the Har-ki-Dun glacier in west Garhwal (Uttaranchal). It flowed parallel to the river Yamuna for some distance and later joined it, proceeding south as the Vedic Saraswati. The seasonal rivers and rivulets, including Ghaggar, joined Saraswati as it followed the course of the present river through Punjab and Haryana. River Sutluj, the Vedic Shatadru, joined the river Saraswati as a tributary at Shatrana, approximately 25 km south of Patiala. Saraswati then followed the course of Ghaggar through Rajasthan, Gujarat and Hakra in Bhawalpur before emptying into the Rann of Kutch via Nara in Sindh province, running parallel to the Indus River. It has been established that the river Saraswati, carrying the waters of three perennial and numerous seasonal rivers, was a mighty river in the Vedic times.

As of today, a part of the river exists as Ghaggar in Haryana; the rest of it has disappeared in the fringes of the desert of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Sindh. The perennial rivers Sutluj and Yamuna were once the tributaries of the Saraswati. It is believed that subsequently some tectonic movements may have forced the Sutluj and Yamuna to change course and hence Saraswati dried up in a period spread over a few hundred years possibly between 2000 and 1500 BC. It is probable that desertification of Rajasthan would have taken place at that time. The present dried bed of the Ghaggar was thus part of a major river, anciently known as Saraswati. Analysis of satellite imagery supports the above hypothesis regarding the course of the 'lost' Saraswati.

http://www.haryana-online.com/Districts/Kurukshetra.htm

1. Bhorsaidan, an escavation site around 30kms from Kurukshetra
2. H.H. Shrimat Sadyojat Shankarashram Swamiji arrives at Bhorsaidan
3. Heading to the steep gorge
4. Fine dust - River Sarasvati's silt containing mica and other minerals are found at Bhor Saidan. Presence of these minerals provides added cofirmation that a Himalayan river (Vedic Sarasvati) flowed here in the distant past.

Discovery of the ancient channel by and pictures sent by Rajesh Purohit, Curator, Krishna Museum.

Archaeologists ‘find’ Saraswati

KOLKATA, Feb. 3, 2007 — A group of archaeologists, led by Mr Rajesh Purohit, claim to have discovered the riverbed of the lost Saraswati at a site on Pehowa Road in Haryana near Bhor Saidan village, about 13 km from Kurukshetra. Delivering the first Lalit Mohan Mukherjee Vijnana Bhikshyu commemorative lecture, organised by the Bengal Mass Education Society at Academy of Fine Arts in the city today, the curator of Srikrishna Museum at Kurukshetra said that the site was located on a mound and painted pottery associated with the Mahabharata age has been unearthed there. Bhor Saidan village was named after Kaurava hero Bhurisrava, son of Somadutta, he informed. SNS

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?date=2007-02-04&usrsess=1&clid=6&id=173101

North India finds hope in Saraswati's revival

Monday, February 05 2007 11:57(IST)

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Kolkata, Feb 5: Just when northern India is facing water scarcity, the revival of the 'mythical river' Saraswati will bring hope to thousands living in arid zones of Rajasthan, Harayana and Gujarat.

Curator of Sri Krishna Museum in Kurushketra Rajesh Purohit has announced that he had discovered the river bed of the lost Saraswati river at Bhor Saidan village, 13 km from Kurushetra on the Pehowa road.

Mr Purohit, who was present here recently to attend an annual lecture organised by the Bengal Mass Education Society, also added that a large number of satellite images of the paleo-channels (buried channels) and old alluvial soils have been mapped which distinctly proves the existence of channels below the archaeological sites of Harayana.

Mr Purohit's recent findings imply that there was a possibility of constructing wells in the central Saraswati basin to augment the water resources in the region.

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation(ONGC) was also interested in the exploration following the discovery of mica particles from an artesian well in Kalayat, along the river track.

ONGC General Manager M R Rao had taken several samples from the site to carry out carbon and radio-active dating to explore water.

The river's revival would not only benefit the country in terms of augmentation of the ground water from the paleo-channels in the drought prone areas but also enable the scholars to solve mysteries of the Aryan invansion.

UNI
http://news.oneindia.in/2007/02/05/north-india-finds-hope-in-saraswatis-revival-1170657620.html

Mythical river flowed off Pehowa
Kurukshetra: Archaeologists led by Rajesh Purohit have claimed to have discovered the river bed of the lost Saraswati river at a site known as Bhor Saidan village, 13 km from here on the Pehowa road, The Tribune reported in its recent issue. Geologists and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists, working to track the water channel, termed the reported traces as an “important turn” to understand the river once considered “a mythical water channel.” Purohit, curator of Srikrishna Museum at Kurukshetra, said the discovered site was located on a mound and painted gray ware or the pottery associated with the Mahabharata age could be spotted here. Bhor Saidan village was named after Kaurava hero, Bhurisrava, son of Somadutta, whose name also figures in the Bhagavad Gita, he explains.

A crocodile park is still there along with the Bhurisrava ‘tirth’ here that confirms a water source around the mound where the village is located. “It has also been confirmed from the palaeo channel (a buried channel) beneath here which is evident from the official map of the Survey of India,” Purohit said.

Dr AK Gupta, senior scientist at the Jodhpur Regional Centre of ISRO, confirmed the discovery. He said the new findings would add a new dimension to the Saraswati work. He said this discovery would throw light on human habitation and their culture on the banks of Saraswati. Associated with the project, Dr Gupta here clarified that it was yet to be ascertained if the Saraswati flowing from Haryana was similar to that of the Vedic Age. Dr AR Chaudhri, reader in the Department of Geology, KU, and working to track Saraswati on behalf of the ONGC, sees the site as “path breaking” in locating the track of the lost river.

http://www.spatialindia.com/news_roundup4.html

ONGC wants to dig deep to end state’s water woes
Vishal Joshi, Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, December 23, 2006

Aimed at exploring deep untapped sources of fresh water in the state, the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) has started laboratory tests to ascertain the area that can be drilled for water at Bhor Saidan village near here.

Incidentally, the village is the place where archeologists have claimed to discover the riverbed of now-extinct Saraswati.

After successfully drilling India's deepest fresh-water well at a depth of about 500-m below the ground-level near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan last month, the ONGC has now started looking for similar possibilities in Haryana, which is facing a severe problem due to the excessive utilisation of underground water.

Talking exclusively to this correspondent after his visit to the archeological site here today, Dr M.R. Rao, Coordinator of the Project Saraswati of the ONGC, said the work on drilling would commence within next two months.

Dr Rao, working as the GM, ONGC, Dehra Dun, is a geologist. He said the project to tap the deep underground water was taken by the ONGC as a part of its social responsibility.

He added that the ONGC consultant, Dr A.R. Chaudhri, had taken several samples from Bhor Saidan site to carry out carbon dating and radioactive dating from the spot to explore the water possibility.

Dr Chaudhri informed that the laboratory test report was likely to come within next two weeks.

The Tribune had firstly highlighted the claim of the archeologists, Rajesh Purohit and Rajender Singh Rana, relating to the discovery of the riverbed of Saraswati, the river once considered to be mythical.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20061224/haryana.htm#3

New Light On Saraswati
Mythical river flowed off Pehowa
Vishal Joshi, Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, December 13, 2006

Archaeologists led by Mr Rajesh Purohit has claimed having discovered the riverbed of the lost Saraswati river at a site known as Bhor Saidan village, 13 km from here on the Pehowa road.

Geologists and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists working to track the water channel termed the reported traces as “important turn” to understand the river once considered “a mythical water channel.”

Mr Purohit, curator of Srikrishna Museum at Kurukshetra said the discovered site was located on a mound and painted gray ware or the pottery associated with the Mahabharata age could be spotted here.

Bhor Saidan village was named after Kaurava hero Bhurisrava, son of Somadutta, whose name also figures in the Bhagavad Gita, he informs.

A crocodile park is still there along with the Bhurisrava ‘tirth’, here that confirms a water source around the mound where the village is located.

Excavation of the site and the riverbed of the lost river is considered ideal site for the study of Saraswati as the palaeo channels can be seen by naked eyes, informs Mr Rajender Singh Rana, guide lecturer at Srikrishna Museum.

Dr A K.Gupta, senior scientist at the Jodhpur Regional Centre of ISRO, confirmed the discovery. He said the new findings would add new dimension to the Saraswati work.

He said this discovery would throw light on human habitation and their culture on the bank of Saraswati.

Associated with the project, Dr Gupta here clarified it was yet to be ascertained if the Saraswati flowing from Haryana was similar to that of the Vedic Age.

It may also unravel the mystery of the lost Saraswati, mound encompasses a multicultural deposit of human habitation starting from the Painted Grey Ware culture dating back to 11th or 12th century BC up to the Mughal period, said Mr Purohit.

“It has been confirmed from the palaeo channel (a buried channel) beneath here which is evident from the official map of Survey of India,” he added.

Dr A.R. Chaudhri, reader in the Department of Geology, KU and working to track Saraswati on behalf of the ONGC sees the site as “path breaking” in locating the track of the lost river.

Mr Purohit said a satellite images taken of the palaeo channels, buried rivers, old alluvial soils etc which shows the channel below the village here from where for the first time in the history river beds containing huge amount of sand with mica have been found at a depth of 30 feet in a rain gulley.

The riverbed has seven layers alternatively, carrying sand and alluvial clay deposits.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20061214/main7.htm

Here is a note from Prem Kaidi providing a textual evidence equating Ghaggar with River Sarasvati:

[quote] According to Kangrikarchak (Kailasha Purana : see Kailash Manasarovar- Swami Pranavanand) the Sindhu Saraswsati in Vaidik time is River Karnali( Later called river Surju/Surya & now in India called Ghaghara the name mentioned in Rigveda). [unquote]

Prem Kaidi (7 Feb. 2008)

The Indus Water Treaty

Subrahmanyam Sridhar

Executive Summary

Recent stresses and strains in the observance of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) [1] have had many analysts including this author believe that water sharing will take a politically charged dynamic and may even replace Kashmir as the primary source of conflict between India and Pakistan. Therefore it is important to have comprehensive understanding of the overall issues of the Indus system of rivers and the IWT as this article attempts to provide. It is formatted introduce the Indus river system, a brief overview of the principles of water sharing, the historical background leading up to the water crisis between India and Pakistan and the mediation by the World Bank, various provisions of the IWT, current disputes in water projects on the Indus River System bilaterally between India and Pakistan, and a look into the state of affairs of the Indus River System within Pakistan today.
Contents
Introduction
The Indus River System
The Indus Tributaries
The Indus Water Treaty
Current Issues on Indus Water Sharing
Conclusions
References and Footnotes

Introduction

The 3rd World Water Forum held at Kyoto , Japan in March 2003 sent simultaneous messages of hope and distress regarding the availability of water to meet surging worldwide demand in the coming decades. Its significance is especially serious in the Indian subcontinent, a region that is home to one-fourth of humanity and to three of the mightiest rivers of the world: the Indus , Ganges and Brahmaputra . Although these rivers have been subject to significant water sharing treaties among the various riparian states in the past, currently four major treaties govern them. These include the Indus Water Treaty (1960) between India and Pakistan , Sankosh Multipurpose Project treaty (1993) between India and Bhutan , the Ganges Water Sharing Agreement (1996) between India and Bangladesh , and the Mahakali Treaty (1996) between India and Nepal .

Recent stresses and strains in the observance of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) [1] have had many analysts including this author believe that water sharing will take a politically charged dynamic and may even replace Kashmir as the primary source of conflict between India and Pakistan. Therefore it is important to have comprehensive understanding of the overall issues of the Indus system of rivers and the IWT as this article attempts to provide. It is formatted introduce the Indus river system, a brief overview of the principles of water sharing, the historical background leading up to the water crisis between India and Pakistan and the mediation by the World Bank, various provisions of the IWT, current disputes in water projects on the Indus River System bilaterally between India and Pakistan, and a look into the state of affairs of the Indus River System within Pakistan today.

The Indus River System

The northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent is dominated by the Indus River and its system of upper tributaries (collectively referred to as Indus River System in this article.) Originating 17,000 feet (518 m) above sea level in a spring near Lake Manasarovar at Mt. Kailash [i], the Indus river along with the Brahmaputra [ii], Sutlej , and Karnali rivers are fed by massive Tibetan glacial waters to become a mighty river with further feeds from other glacial catchment areas in Karakoram and Zanskar ranges. The Indus then traverses a distance of 1800 miles (2900 km) through Tibet, India, Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), and Pakistan before draining into the Arabian Sea south of Karachi. On its way, it is further enriched by the waters of several tributaries, the most important and discussed in this article are Beas , Sutlej , Ravi , Chenab and Jhelum rivers. The western tributaries of the Indus that include the Swat, Kurram, Gomal, Kohat, Zoab and Kabul are not discussed herein. The river has been variously known as the Sengge[2] or Lion River by the Tibetans[iii], Abbasseen or Father of Rivers by the Pathans of present NWFP Pakistan, and Mitho Dariyo or Sweet River by the denizens of the arid Sindh.

Figure 1: Indus river and its tributaries with in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Courtesy of Panos Institute South Asia

Figure 2: Major tributaries and dams of the Indus river Courtesy of Indian Express

The Indus Tributaries
Sutlej : The longest of the five tributaries, the Sutlej originates near Mt. Kailash along with the Indus and runs a course of 964 miles (1550 km) through the Panjal and Siwalik mountain ranges and enters Pakistan through the plains of Indian Punjab. The Husseiniwala Headworks at Ferozepore is located downstream at the merger between of Beas and Sutlej , the closure of which on May 1, 1948 triggered the water crisis that prompted the IWT. These headworks supplied water to the then Princely State of Bikaner through a left-bank canal called Bikaner Canal and the state of Bahawalpur from the right-bank canal called Depalpur Canal . The huge 740 feet (225 m) high Bhakra Dam, which Nehru called “the new temple of resurgent India ,” [11] is also situated on this river. In addition another important headwork located on this Sutlej is Harike that feeds the Sirhind and Rajasthan canals. Within Pakistan , these eastern tributaries of the Indus known as Panjand combine at Mithan Kot.

Figure 3: Bhakra Dam Courtesy of Ministry of Irrigation, Govt. of Rajashtan

Chenab : This 675 mile (1086 km) long river originates in the Kulu and Kangra districts of Himachal Pradesh and is fed by the tributaries Chandra and Bagha as it enters J&K near Kishtwar. After cutting across the Pir Panjal range, it enters the Sialkot district in Pakistan that built the Marala barrage across the river in 1968 with a maximum discharge of 1.1 million cusecs.

Jhelum & Kishenganga (Neelum): The Kishenganga river rises in the mountain complex west of Dras and south of Deosai plateau and is fed by a number of tiny tributaries and merges with Jhelum near Muzaffarabad in PoK. The Jhelum [iv] itself originates in the foothills of Pir Panjal near Verinag and flows through the four major cities of Anantnag, Srinagar , Sopore and Baramulla. Some important tributaries of the Jhelum are Lidar, Sind and Vishav.

Ravi : This 475 mile (764 km) long river rises in Himachal Pradesh and runs a course of 102 miles (164 km) before joining Chenab in Pakistan after flowing past Lahore . The Thien Dam (Ranjit Sagar Dam) is located on this river at the tri-section of Punjab , Himachal Pradesh and J&K States and feeds the Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC) which irrigates Northwestern Punjab .

Beas : This 290 mile (467 km) long river originates near Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh and flows through Kulu Valley and the Siwalik Range . The Pandoh Dam is situated on this and diverts water to Sutlej through the Beas-Sutlej link.

The original infrastructure built by the British to harness and efficiently distribute the waters of these tributaries with a series of canals, barrages, and headworks has been augmented with construction of dams since independence by both India and Pakistan .

The Indus Water Treaty

The India Independence Act enacted in 1947 by British Parliament and the subsequent British withdrawal from India left the subcontinent partitioned between two independent states marred by demarcation problems along their international boundaries, the peculiar circumstances leading to the division, and the accession of a number of princely states especially that of Jammu & Kashmir straddling India and Pakistan as well as the complex riverine systems of Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra. Of these three rivers, the Indus presented a complicated set of issues stemming from thousands of kilometres of man-made irrigation canals and headworks that regulated the flow of its waters. While all the rivers, except Indus and Sutlej , originated within Kashmir , the headworks located mostly in the Eastern Punjab were awarded to India . Aside from the Punjab Boundary Commission suggestion that the canal-headworks system be treated as a joint venture, a proposition rejected by both countries, it had not deliberated water sharing of Indus River Basin due to a hasty partition that was completed in a mere 73 days. Water sharing issues of Indus River System would later take over a decade to resolve. Further complicating this issue, Pakistan covertly and later overtly sought to grab Jammu & Kashmir for various reasons including the desire to control the waters of these rivers that succeeded in instilling only distrust among Indian minds.

After the Partition, both the nations agreed to a “Standstill Agreement” on Dec. 30, 1947 freezing the existing water turn systems at the two headworks of Madhopur (on the Ravi ) and Ferozepur (on the Sutlej ) until March, 31, 1948 . Any dispute that could not be resolved by the Punjab Partition Committee was to be decided by the Arbitral Tribunal (AT) which had been setup under Section Nine of the Indian Independence Act by the Governor General to sort out difficulties arising over the division of assets. However, on the expiry of the arrangement and after not receiving an encouraging response to a reminder for talks issued by the East Punjab Government on 29th March 1948, and in the absence of a new agreement, the then Indian Punjab Government promptly stopped the water supply through Madhopur on April, 1, 1948. By a coincidence, the Arbitral Tribunal’s term also expired on the same day. In the meanwhile, the AT had accepted India ’s claims regarding seigniorage charges for the waters and ordered payment of the same by Pakistan . At the invitation of East Punjab , the Engineers of the two divided-Punjab States met in Simla on Apr. 15, 1948 and signed two Standstill Agreements [5] regarding the Depalpur Canal and Central Bari Doab Canal to be in effect until Oct. 15, 1948 . The West Punjab Government agreed to pay: (1) seigniorage charges, (2) proportionate maintenance costs, and (3) interest on a proportionate amount of capital. In its defence, the GoI cited such charges levied by the Punjab on the Bikaner state under the British.

However, the West Punjab Govt. refused to ratify the Agreement and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, then Liaqat Ali Khan, called for a meeting. The Finance Minister of Pakistan , Ghulam Mohammed, along with the Pakistani Punjab ministers, Shaukat Hayat Khan and Mumtaz Daulatana visited Delhi to work out an agreement [4] in the Inter-Dominion Conference held on May, 3-4, 1948. India agreed to resume release of water from the headworks, but made it clear that Pakistan could not lay claim to these waters as a matter of right and would levy seigniorage charges specified by the Prime Minister of India to be deposited in Reserve Bank of India , establishing Indian sovereignty over these rivers. The Indian side also made assurances that the waters would be diminished slowly giving enough time for West Punjab to develop alternate sources. The West Punjab Government, for its part, also recognized “the natural anxiety of the East Punjab Government to discharge the obligations to develop areas where water is scarce and which were underdeveloped in relation to parts of West Punjab .” Soon the Pakistani Government falsely accused that they were coerced into signing this Agreement and made futile appeals to the Governor General Lord Mountbatten. However, due to the hostilities between India and Pakistan on account of Kashmir and in the general environment of distrust and animosity, no further talks took place. Pakistan ’s suggestion in June 1949 to take the matter to the International Court of Justice at The Hague and widen the conflict across all rivers, was rejected by India . On November 1, 1949 , Pakistan unilaterally invalidated the Delhi Agreement and by July, 1950 stopped seigniorage payments into RBI. However, India continued to abide by the Agreement and supplied waters.

In 1951, David Lilienthal, former chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority and a former Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, USA visited the two countries ostensibly to write a series of articles for the Colliers magazine (since defunct). Having had access to both the Governments at the highest level, Lilientahl wrote in one of his articles, “I proposed that India and Pakistan work out a program jointly to develop and jointly to operate the Indus Basin river system, upon which both nations were dependent for irrigation water. With new dams and irrigation canals, the Indus and its tributaries could be made to yield the additional water each country needed for increased food production. In the article I had suggested that the World Bank might use its good offices to bring the parties to agreement, and help in the financing of an Indus Development program.” Inspired by this idea, Eugene R. Black, then President of the World Bank visited the two countries and proposed a Working Party of Indian, Pakistani and World Bank engineers to tackle the “functional”, rather than the “political” aspects of water sharing. The two countries accepted this mediation [5] (which also had the backing of President Truman who wanted to remove the “kind of unfriendliness” that existed then between the US and India ) offer in March 1952 and sent their technical teams to Washington for further discussions. Subsequent meetings took place in Karachi in Nov., 1952 and New Delhi in Jan. 1953. The World Bank suggested that each side submit its own plans, which they did on Oct. 6, 1953 . The two plans, while concurring on the available supply of water, differed widely on allocations. [6] The table below, shows the initial, negotiated and final positions of both the countries.

Table 1: Indus River System Estimates and Allocations

Plan
India
Pakistan

Initial Estimate
119 MAF
118 MAF[v]

Initial Indian
29 MAF
90 MAF

Initial Pakistani
15.5 MAF
102.5 MAF

Revised Indian
All of the Eastern rivers + 7% of Western rivers
None of the Eastern rivers plus 93% of the Western rivers

Revised Pakistani
30% of Eastern rivers and none of the Western rivers
70% of the Eastern rivers + all of the Western rivers

World Bank
Entire flow of the Eastern Rivers
Entire flow of the Western Rivers

However, despite all efforts, the wide gaps in the stands of the two countries could not be bridged, mainly due to the intransigence of the Pakistani side as the revised and final allocations show clearly above. The World Bank felt that an ideal approach to joint development of an integrated plan for Indus Basin as proposed by David Lilienthal was now impossible. In order to resolve the dispute, it finally stepped in with its own “settlement” proposals on Feb. 5, 1954 offering the three Eastern rivers to India and the three Western rivers to Pakistan . India accepted the proposal in toto on Mar. 25, 1954 while Pakistan gave only a “qualified acceptance” on July 28, 1954 . The settlement offered by the World Bank was closer to the Indian position as it repudiated the claims of Pakistan based on “historic usage”. An angered Pakistan threatened to withdraw from further negotiations. The World Bank proposal was then transformed from a “settlement” to a “basis for further negotiations” and the talks eventually continued for the next six years. [7, 8] In the meanwhile, the two countries signed an Interim Agreement on June 21, 1955 . As no conclusive agreement could be reached, the World Bank announced on Apr. 30, 1956 that the negotiation deadline has been indefinitely extended. [9] As is its wont, Pakistan , through its then Prime Minister H.S.Suhrawardy, issued a direct threat of war with India over waters, escalating tensions.

Under the World Bank plan, Pakistan was asked to construct barrages and canals to divert the Western river waters to compensate the loss of Eastern rivers on the Pakistani side. During the period needed to do this, called the Transition Period, India was required to maintain the “historic withdrawals” to Pakistan The World Bank then suggested a “financial liability” for India as replacement costs by Pakistan for the loss of the three Eastern rivers. In the 1958 meeting, the replacement works and the financial liability to India were considered. India rejected Pakistan ’s proposal, known as the “London Plan”, for two large dams on the Jhelum and the Indus and three smaller ones on Ravi and Sutlej and several canals, all in all totaling USD 1.2 Billion. India ’s alternate proposal, known as the “Marhu Tunnel Proposal”, was unacceptable to Pakistan as leaving too much leverage on water flows in Indian hands. In May, 1959, the Bank’s President visited both countries and suggested a way out which involved India paying a fixed amount of £ 62.060 Million to be paid in ten years in equal installments and the Bank assisting Pakistan with help from donor countries. The international consortium of donors pledged USD 900 Million for Pakistan and the drafting of the IWT began in Aug., 1959.

The treaty was signed in Karachi by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Field Marshal Ayub Khan H.P., H.J. and Mr. W.A.B. Illif, President of the World Bank in a five-day summit meet starting Sep. 19, 1960 . However, it was deemed effective from Apr. 1, 1960 . The two governments ratified the same in January 1961 by exchanging documents in Delhi . Simultaneously an Indus Basin Development Fund was established with contributions from Australia , Canada , Germany , New Zealand , the UK and the US along with India ’s share of the cost. The Eisenhower Administration contributed roughly half the cost of the Fund, while the World Bank provided US$ 250 Million and the other donor countries together provided a similar amount. The Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) of Pakistan was entrusted with the task of completing these tasks. The fund was subsequently extinguished after the completion of the projects as per Article XI of the IWT. The May 4, 1948 accord stood annulled after the signing of IWT. The Indus Basin Project involved construction of two large dams, five barrages, one siphon and seven link canals as detailed below in Tables 2, 3,& 4, to transfer 14 MAF of water from the Western rivers. [10] There are three systems of link canals. Two of the systems, the Rasul-Qadirabad-Balloki-Suleimanki System (R.Q.B.S.) and the Trimmu-Sidhnai-Mailsi-Bahawal System (T.S.M.B) connect the Jhelum River through to the Sutlej and the third system Chashma-Jhelum System (C.J) connects the Indus with the Jhelum .

Table 2: Engineering Construction Work in Pakistan as part of IWT - Canals

Link Canals Constructed in Pakistan under the IWT

From -To Rivers
Link Canal Name
Description

1. Jhelum – Chenab
Rasul-Qadirabad
30 miles long; provides 19,000 cusecs Jhelum water to Chenab

2. Chenab – Ravi
Qadirabad-Balloki
104 miles long; provides 18,600 cusecs water to Ravi

3. Ravi – Sutlej
Balloki-Suleimanki II
39 miles long; provides 6,500 cusecs water to Sutlej

4. Indus – Jhelum
Chashma-Jhelum
63 miles long; provides 21,700 cusecs water to Jhelum

5. Indus – Ravi
Trimmu-Sidhnai
44 miles long; provides 11,000 cusecs water to Ravi

6. Ravi – Sutlej
Sidhnai-Mailsi
60 miles long; provides 10,000 cusecs water to Sutlej

7. Indus – Panjnad
Taunsa-Panjnad
38 miles long; provides 100,000 cusecs water to Sutlej

Table 3: Engineering Construction Work in Pakistan as part of IWT - Reservoirs

Reservoirs Constructed in Pakistan under IWT

Mangla
On Jhelum at Mangla, Mirpur Distt. in PoK; completed in 1968

Tarbela
On Indus ; completed in 1977; Gross storage 11.62 MAF; Live storage 9.7 MAF; Generates 3478 MW power

Table 4 :Engineering Construction Work in Pakistan as part of IWT - Barrages & Syphons

Barrages Constructed in Pakistan under IWT

Marala
On Chenab ; completed in 1968; Max. discharge 1.1 Million cusecs

Qadirabad
On Chenab ; completed in 1967; Max. discharge 900,000 cusecs

Sidhnai
On Ravi ; completed in 1965; Max. discharge 167,000 cusecs

Rasul
On Jhelum ; completed in 1967; Max. discharge 876,000 cusecs

Chashma
On Indus ; completed in 1971; also has a reservoir of 0.75 MAF; Max. discharge 1,176,000 cusecs

Mailsi
On Sutlej ; a gated siphon; Max. discharge 429,000 cusecs

Table 5 :Other Engineering Constructions on the Indus River System

Other Important Engineering Structures

Jinnah Barrage
Constructed 1946; Max. discharge 950,000 cusecs

Taunsa Barrage
Constructed 1959; Max. discharge 750,000 cusecs

Guddu Barrage
Constructed 1962; Max. discharge 1,200,000 cusecs

Sukkur Barrage
Constructed 1932; Max. discharge 1,500,000 cusecs

Kotri Barrage
Constructed 1955; Max. discharge 750,000 cusecs

Ghazi Barotha Barrage
Constructed 2004; Max. discharge 500,000 cusecs; Power generation 1450 MW

Figure 4 Indus Basin Courtesy: Pakistan Water Gateway Portal

Figure 5 Nehru at Karachi to sign IWT Courtesy: Frontline

The IWT consists of a Preamble, twelve articles delineating the rights and obligations of both countries, including mechanisms to deal with disputes, and various Annexure. These are as follows:

Table 6 : Articles & Annexure of IWT

Article I
Definitions

Article II
Provisions Regarding Eastern Rivers

Article III
Provisions Regarding Western Rivers

Article IV
Provisions Regarding Eastern Rivers and Western Rivers

Article V
Financial Provisions

Article VI
Exchange of Data

Article VII
Future Cooperation

Article VIII
Permanent Indus Commission

Article IX
Settlement of Differences and Disputes

Article X
Emergency Provisions

Article XI
General Provisions

Article XII
Final Provisions

Annexure A
Exchange of Notes between Government of India and Government of Pakistan

Annexure B
Agricultural Use by Pakistan from Certain Tributaries of the Ravi

Annexure C
Agricultural Use by India from the Western Rivers

Annexure D
Generation of Hydroelectric Power by India on the Western Rivers

Annexure E
Storage of Waters by India on the Western Rivers

Annexure F
Neutral Expert

Annexure G
Court of Arbitration

Annexure H
Transitional Arrangements

Of the above, Annexure H is no longer valid as the Transition Period, during which Pakistan was required to make alternate arrangements for the loss of waters of the Eastern rivers, has long since expired.

Figure 6: Stamp issued by Pakistan to commemorate Mangla Dam Courtesy: World Bank

The treaty allocated the three Eastern rivers (Ravi-Beas, Sutlej ) to India and the three Western rivers Indus , Jhelum and Chenab largely to Pakistan . The Treaty permits India to draw water from the Western rivers for irrigation of 642,000 Acres that existed on the date of the treaty and in addition an entitlement to irrigate an Irrigated Cropped Area (ICA)[vi] of 701,000 acres. The break-up (in Acres) on the various Western rivers is as follows:

Table 7: India 's Irrigation Entitlement on Western Rivers

The Indus
Jhelum
Chenab
Total

70,000
400,000
231,000
701,000

As for storage, the following are the allocations to India :

Table 8 : India 's Entitlement for "other" Storages

River Name
General Storage (MAF)
Power Storage (MAF)
Flood Storage (MAF)

Indus
0.25
0.15
Nil

Jhelum (Excluding Jhelum Main )
0.50
0.25
0.75

Jhelum Main
Nil
Nil
As in Paragraph 9, Annexure E

Chenab (Excluding Chenab Main )
0.50
0.60
Nil

Chenab Main
Nil
0.60
Nil

There are some caveats to the above storage allocations as follows:

· General storage means any purpose including generation of electricity

· Power storage water may also be used for non-consumptive or domestic use except flood control or protection

· The power storage capacity on Chenab may be increased by decreasing corresponding amounts in Jhelum , and/or Chenab Main.

The IWT also enunciated a mechanism to exchange regularly flow-data of rivers, canals and streams. A Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) was constituted, headed by two Commissioners, one from each country. The PIC is expected to meet at least once a year alternately in India and Pakistan and submit an annual report to their respective Governments before June, 30th every year. So far, the Commission has met 92 times. The IWT also sets out the procedures for settlement of differences and disputes both bilaterally and through International arbitration. Given below is an abridged version of the dispute settlement process that may be of interest in the present context:

A. Any question that might be a breach of IWT shall be first examined by the PIC.

B. A difference is deemed to have arisen if the PIC could not reach an agreement.

C. The difference shall be dealt with by a neutral expert who may opine if it is a dispute or not. If not, he shall resolve it. Such a neutral expert shall be a highly qualified engineer and appointed by the two Governments in consultation, or failing which, by the Bank. Such a neutral expert can deal with any of the questions mentioned in Part-I of Annexure-F. The expert’s decision is final and binding.

D. In case of a dispute, the Commissioners report to their respective Governments which shall then strive to resolve the dispute.

E. A Court of Arbitration shall be setup to resolve the dispute, if no decision is reached by the above process.

F. Such a Court will consist of seven members, two from each party and three including a Chairman from a panel to be chosen by the two Governments. If no consensus on names can be arrived at, the IWT has given a list of persons from whom to choose such as the Secretary General of the U.N. or International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for the Chairmanship and the President of M.I.T., Cambridge, the Rector of Imperial College, London, the Chief Justice of the USA, or the Lord Chief Justice of England for panel membership.

Many Pakistanis feel that Pakistan surrendered to India the waters of the three Eastern rivers in 1960. Their argument is along the following lines. On the basis of over fifty years' record the mean flow in Indus River System (IRS) totalled 175 MAF on the eve of Partition of Punjab in 1947. This comprised of 93 MAF including 27 of Kabul for Indus, 23 for Jhelum, 26 for Chenab, 6 for Ravi, 13 for Beas and 14 for Sutlej annually. Out of this 175 MAF, 167 flowed into Pakistan at the time the boundaries of partitioned Punjab were fixed according to the Radcliffe Award . This means that the Indian East Punjab drew only 8 MAF of a total of 33 MAF of water that annually flowed in three eastern rivers Ravi , Beas and Sutlej . Under the Internationally agreed rights of lower riparian states and also Indian Independence Act 1947, the balance 25 MAF waters of three eastern rivers were to be shared between India and Pakistan . [12] The Pakistanis feel that those who negotiated the IWT on their behalf did not sufficiently press for the sharing of this quantum of water.

However, there are several fallacies in these arguments. First, leaving the claim on the quantum of waters aside, the arrangement entered into at Partition time was interim in nature until a final agreement could be reached and the provisions of such an interim arrangement were in no way binding on the parties concerned. Secondly, the Indus Agreement was reached eventually in 1960 during that time the utilization of the waters of these rivers had grown enormously in the states of East Punjab , Rajasthan, and Jammu & Kashmir. To claim the waters on the basis of the flow thirteen years before, when agriculture and economy had been dictated by different circumstances of a united India is patently unfair. In fact, the IWT itself treats water flows and usage based on the situation existing as on Apr. 1, 1960 , the effective date of the Treaty. Thirdly, as a lower riparian state, all the unused river waters would naturally flow to Pakistan . This, by itself, cannot bestow any rights on that country and again, a quantum of 80 MAF of water was reaching the Arabian Sea unutilized out of the total flow of the Indus River systems. [13, 14] All these are summarized by the following statement of N.D.Gulhati, the principal negotiator from the Indian side to the IWT, “After ten years of hard and devoted work, we had secured almost a world-wide recognition of our claim to use in India all the waters of the Eastern Rivers, including the 12 MAF which was actually being let down for use in Pakistan as at the time of partition... In India , we had already allocated all these waters, including the 12 MAF referred to above, between Punjab (including the present Haryana), Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir . The scope of the Bhakra-Nangal project had been considerably increased, the Madhopur-Beas Link and the Sirhind Feeder had been completed and opened for operation, several new channels had been built on the Upper Bari Doab Canal and the Rajasthan Canal was under construction." [15]

Figure 7:Indian Canals on the Indus River Tributaries Courtesy: Bhakra Beas Management Board

Current Issues on Indus Water Sharing

Issues External to Pakistan

There are a host of factors external to Pakistan that could also affect the Indus River System. One is the climatic changes leading to reduced flows on the Indus per se. Another exogenous factor is the growing demand within India, especially the state of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) where people feel that the IWT has wrongfully deprived them of water resulting retarding the growth of agriculture, power generation, and irrigation from rivers that originate and flow from their very state. There was also a widespread demand within India for abrogation of the IWT after the attack on the Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001 by terrorists supported directly by the Pakistani state apparatus.

The Tulbul Navigation Lock/Wullar Barrage Issue
The 74 Sq. Km. Wullar Lake (original size 202 Sq. Kms.) is the largest freshwater lake in India and is situated on the Jhelum and supplies 40% of J&K’s fish catch. The stretch of 22 Km between Sopore and Baramulla becomes non-navigable during the lean winter season with a water depth of only 2.5 ft. It is only in spring that rainfall causes the snow to melt at higher elevations on the surrounding mountains and causes floods. [16] In order to improve navigation, India started constructing in 1985, a barrage 439 feet long and with a lock, at the mouth of the lake to raise the flow of water in winter to 4000 cusecs with a depth of 4 ft with an added storage of 0.3 MAF. Pakistan objected to this project and construction was halted in 1987. Pakistan’s objection [17,18] stems from two issues, one India needs to get concurrence of the design from Pakistan and two, it cannot store waters as per IWT on the Jhelum Main anything in excess of 0.01 MAF as “incidental storage work” (Paragraph 8(h) in Annexure E of IWT). Pakistan ’s real objections may be due to its fear that such a barrage may damage its own Triple-Canal project linking Jhelum and Chenab with the Upper Bari Doab Canal . Pakistan also says that such a barrage would be a security risk enabling the Indian Army to make the crossing of the river either easy or difficult through controlled release of water. India ’s argument [19] is that such a barrage would not reduce the quantum of water flow and it would also be beneficial to Pakistan by regulating water flow to Mangla Dam by controlling floods and also improve the Pakistani Triple-canal irrigation system. The water flow would indeed double during the lean winter period from the current 2000 cusecs. Also, the project does not envisage building any new storage capacity as the Wullar lake already existed and the water is only for non-consumptive use (this term includes such usage as navigation, floating of timber, flood protection or control, and fishing with no diminution in volume of water returned to the river/tributaries after use) which is allowed by the IWT. The Wullar barrage is not a storage project but a control project permissible under the treaty. The two countries had indeed reached an agreement in October, 1991 but then Pakistan suddenly introduced an irrelevant element in February, 1992 by linking the termination of Kishenganga Hydroelectric project with further movements in the Tulbul Navigation Lock project and India ’s refusal stalled further work. The 1991 draft agreement stipulated that India would build a 40-feet wide lock but leave ungated 6.2 Metres of the lake at a crest level of 1574.9 Metres and would also forego 0.30MAF storage while Pakistan would allow the lake to fill to its full capacity at 1578 metres. When the agreement was reached in 1991, the only contention that remained was the timing of the filling up of the lake. The crucial period was between June 21 and August 20 every year. Between October, 1987, and August, 1992, experts from the two countries met eight times to settle the issue. The matter was taken up during the Foreign Secretary-level talks between 1990 and 1994 also. The ninth round was held in July, 2004.

The Salal Hydroelectric Project
This was the first major dispute successfully resolved bilaterally under IWT. On April 14, 1978 , the governments of India and Pakistan entered into a treaty on the Salal project. The Salal hydroelectric project on the Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir was negotiated by the Janata Party government in India and the Bhutto administration in Pakistan and has not been disputed by subsequent governments in Pakistan . The negotiations and discussions took place for a period of four years between 1974 and 1978 between the Indus Commissioners and the foreign offices. The project provides waters to Pakistan in a regulated manner but involves no diversion by India . However, Pakistan successfully objected to the building of the anti-siltation sluice gates, which were six low-level outlets normally used for controlling sedimentation, resulting in decreased power generation capacity of this project. India also agreed to reduce the heights of the spillway gates from 40 feet to 30 feet.

The Ranbir and Pratap Canals
The Ranbir Canal , built in 1870, was intended to feed the areas of Miran Sahib, Vijaypur and Madhopur. Poor maintenance has ensured that it can now carry just 300 cubic feet per second of water, rather than the 1,000 cusecs it was designed for when originally built. The Pratap Canal , meant to meet the needs of the Akhnoor-Sunderbani belt, has also silted up. [20] These canals off take from Chenab between Salal and Marala headworks. These two canals need urgent repair work to restore their earlier capacities. Under the treaty, India is allowed to take out a fixed quantity of water for these channels. Many restrictions, such as quantum and dates of withdrawal have been imposed on India by the IWT.

The Kishenganga Project [21]

India started the 330 MW Kishenganga hydroelectric projects across River Kishenganga after protracted negotiations between the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the Defence Ministry, and the environmentalists who fear the loss of the serene Gurez valley. The project involves a 103 metre dam across the river before it crosses the Line of Control (LoC) and a channel and a 27 Km long tunnel through the North Kashmir ranges to bring the water to the Wullar lake where a hydroelectric power station will be built as part of an integrated project. The Kashmir Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah signed an MoU with the Union Power Minister in July, 2000 for the project. The National Hydroelectric Power Corp. (NHPC) was entrusted with this project on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis. The CEA cleared the project only in June, 2004.

Figure 8 Courtesy: K.E.W.A ( Kashmir Environmental Watch Association)

Pakistan objects to the Kishenganga project fearing an adverse impact on its envisaged 969-MW Neelum- Jhelum power plant to be constructed with Chinese assistance. This project was initially planned for 1994-1997 but lies dormant because of lack of funds. The Indian Kishenganga project is expected to lead to a shortfall of 21% loss of water flow in Neelum resulting in a 9% reduction in power for the Pakistani project. [22] The IWT allows India to store waters on Neelum for power generation and so Pakistan wants to start its project first in order to deny waters to India claiming the principle of “prior appropriation”, per Paragraph 15(iii), Part-3, Annexure-D which states “where a Plant is located on a Tributary of The Jhelum on which Pakistan has any Agricultural use or hydroelectric use, the water released below the Plant may be delivered, if necessary, into another Tributary but only to the extent existing Agricultural Use or hydroelectric use by Pakistan on the former Tributary would not be adversely affected”.

India also claims that the waters will ultimately reach Pakistan through Jhelum though not through Kishenganga (Neelum). In the meanwhile, Pakistan has felt the urgency to take up its USD 1.6 Billion Neelum –Jhelum Hydropower Project by appointing a private company, NESPAK, as consultants and complete the international bidding and evaluation by April 2005.

The Baglihar Project

Figure 9 Baglihar Project Courtesy: Lahmeyer International Gmbh

This project, currently under construction by the Jammu & Kashmir Power Development Corp. on the Chenab in Doda Distt , will generate 450 MW of power when commissioned by end-December, 2005. The contract was extended in 2002 to raise the capacity to 900 MW by Dec., 2007. Pakistan claims that this dam will result in a loss of 7000-8000 cusecs of water a day during the rabi season. India has assured Pakistan that the quantum of water will not be diminished in any way. Pakistan disputes India ’s contention that this is a run-of-river[vii] project and the site is unsuitable for an ungated spillway. The works involve the construction of a “Pondage” of 15 Million Cubic Metre (IWT allows for ‘Pondage’, a term meaning Live Storage, of only sufficient magnitude to meet fluctuations in the discharge of the turbines arising from variations in the daily and the weekly loads of the plant) capacity and an underground power station. Pakistan claims that the submerged gate spillways of this 429-feet high 1046-feet long dam, allow India to increase the reservoir’s storage capacity to 164,000 acre feet and the ability to stop water for about 26 days during December, January and February affecting canals taking off Marala headworks. The IWT specifies the following with respect to gated spillways, “If the conditions at the site of a plant make a gated spillway necessary, the bottom level of the gates in normal closed position shall be located at the highest level consistent with sound and economical design and satisfactory construction and operation of the works” (Part-3, Annexure-D of IWT). This project, Pakistan believes, could also lead to inundation of Bajwat Area above Marala headworks due to sudden synchronized releases from Dulhasti, Baglihar and Salal reservoirs on Chenab . Pakistan also claims that India adopted a stonewalling tactics by not allowing the Permanent Indus Commission members of Pakistan from visiting the dam site for four years after having been officially informed of the project in 1998, little recognizing that the 1999 Kargil conflict and the general mobilization of Indian troops as part of Op. Parakram following the Dec. 13, 2001 Parliament attack, both events of Pakistan’s own making, prevented such site visits. In fact, India suspended the site visit on Dec. 24, 2001 following the decision to mobilize troops. Pakistan also contests that it was informed only in 1998 about the Bagilhar project, though the GoI had informed Pakistan as early as 1992. The Pakistani Commissioner of the Permanent Indus Commission had recommended to his government to appoint a neutral expert in Feb. 2003 and accordingly Pakistan claims to have served two notices to GoI in May and November of the same year. Following the February meeting, India allowed a visit by Pakistani experts to the Baglihar project site in October. The Pakistani Commissioner is reported to have made the same recommendation to his Government in January 2004 after another round of PIC meeting. On December 15, 2004 , India supplied Pakistan with more data on the project as a goodwill gesture and rejected Pakistan ’s claims of violation of IWT. However, Pakistan rebuffed India ’s explanations, refused India one week time to study and reply, and decided to discontinue the talks-illustrating Pakistani leadership uncompromising attitude and intransigence. By mid January 2005, Pakistan requested the World Bank to appoint a neutral expert under Article 9(2)(A) of the IWT, claiming one week later that the World Bank chief Mr.Wolfensohn, honored with Pakistan’s highest award of Hilal-e-Pakistan during a visit to that country in early February 2005, had assured Gen. Musharraf that there would be no delay in appointing such an expert. While responding to enquiries from World Bank , India advised the Bank that rather it should allow the suspended bilateral course of action to resume rather than get involved at that stage especially as some convergence of views had appeared in the last round of talks in New Delhi . Meanwhile, Pakistan ’s Minister for Education and former head of the ISI, Javed Ashraf Qazi, warned the Pakistani National Senate that the nation might go to war with India over Baglihar “controversy.”

Embankment on Ravi

Pakistan claims [23] that India has built a 15-Km long embankment (also known as River Training Works, RTWs) on river Ravi in the Narowal sector in 2002, in front of Kot Naina, a village in Shakargarh Distt. Pakistan claims that such a construction “so close to the international border” is violative of both the IWT and the Border Ground Rules, 1961 and has caused flooding on its side. [24] By 2002, Pakistan had also decided to build a similar embankment on its side.

Issues Within Pakistan

The Indus River system, which accounts for 65% of water flow within an arid Pakistan , poses several major challenges to Pakistan today. Pakistan faces both political and non-political problems with respect to The Indus River System.

On the political front, there have been serious differences among the various provinces about sharing of the waters. In Sind, sea water has intruded as much as 54 miles into the estuary of the Indus river due to low or no flow.[25] On the basis of a series of meetings among provinces in March 1991, an agreement, Water Agreement Accord (WAA), [26] was reached on the sharing of the river waters. It stipulated the following allocations

Table 9 Water Allocation among Pakistani Provinces, 1991 (in MAF)

Province
Kharif
Rabi
Total

Punjab
37.07
18.87
55.94

Sindh *
33.94
14.82
48.76

NWFP **
3.48
2.30
5.78

Civil Canals
1.80
1.20
3.00

Balochistan
2.85
1.02
3.87

* - Including requirements of Karachi

** - Ungauged Civil Canals above the rim stations where measurements can be made

It was also decided to set up in 1992, an “Indus River System Authority” (IRSA), as per provisions of the 1991 Accord, with representation from all four provinces. However, actual water allocations have been made on the basis of “historic use” rather than on the 1991 settlement leading to more resentment in Sindh.

The climatic changes due to global warming have led to depleting flow in all Indus River system of rivers, especially the Indus , which depends on glacial runoffs for 90% of its waters. Generally, the Himalayan rivers also carry a very heavy sediment load especially during summer and rainy season, which in turn leads to river shifting and silting of dams and barrages. The three largest dams in Pakistan , Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma have already lost ~ 25% of their capacity due to silting [27]. This is a serious problem in a country which depends on river irrigation, rather than the monsoon rains, for 74% of its total cultivated land. It is generally agreed that 40% of all the water drawn through the canals at barrage heads is lost because of seepage due to un-lined and porous beds and banks of the canals. [28] Such problems exacerbate the already poor yield of the crops [29, 30] In addition, there is excessive system-loss of water due to improper and antiquated agricultural techniques and heavy cropping of water-intensive varieties like sugarcane and rice. While reeling under increasing drought for the last six years, it is also predicted that Pakistan will have a certain level of drought conditions for the next 15 years [31, 32].. Since the dams mostly act as storage reservoirs during Kharif season and draw-down reservoirs during Rabi[viii], there is an acute need within Pakistan for more storage

Figure 10 Indus Basin and Crops Courtesy: National Geographic

There have been widespread protests against the proposed dams of Kalabagh at Mianwali, and Basha at Chilas, Gilgit area and the raising of the Mangla dam in Mirpur. Out of the four provinces of Pakistan , three viz. Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP are against these dams. Even the illegally occupied PoK and Balawaristan oppose the dam projects of Mangla and Basha. The proposed raising of the height of Mangla Dam [33] in Mirpur, PoK, by another 40 feet, will further submerge that district. It is also possible that if India exercises its rights to store 1.5 MAF on Jhelum , the raised Mangla Dam will not fill up. The crux of the matter is the lack of agreement among provinces on the total water availability within the country.

Meanwhile, the dwindling flows of water and siltation have led to reduced power generation from the hydroelectric plants that are part of the Indus River System.. There is a real possibility of shutting down power generation permanently at Tarbela, leaving it for irrigation purposes only. [34]

Figure 1 1 Courtesy: WAPDA

The dams, barrages and canals built to satisfy the increasing demands of water upstream have made water scarce in the Indus at the estuaries of the Arabian Sea causing the sea to push in and increase the salinity in 1.2 Million acres of farmlands.[36] The discharge of freshwater from the Indus into the Arabian Sea has declined steadily from 85 MAF in the 1940s to about 10 MAF in the 90s and probably less today. Pakistan also uses the waters of the Indus rivers for another purpose, fortification of its defences along Indian borders. It has built a series of “defence canals” at strategic locations which are flooded at times of wars and tensions to prevent crossing by Indian armour and artillery. In 2002, after India mobilized its forces as part of Operation Parakram , Pakistan diverted waters to these “defence canals” accentuating the then already severe water shortage of 50% to over 70%.[38] [39][40]

The Indus remains important to both India and Pakistan in another less visible way. The extension of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) beyond the 200 nautical mile (nm) limit from coastal baseline depends on the ability to prove the sedimentation of the Indus river into the sea and has to be claimed before May, 2009 The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS-III) protocol [37] allows the EEZ to be extended under several conditions. In places like the sedimentary basin of the Indus river, the sediment thickness of the rivers beyond the foot of the continental slope can be used to establish the outer limit of the continental shelf of a claimant. This requires baseline and bathymetry survey data. A crucial part of the claim is the delineation of the Territorial Sea Baseline (TSB) which is the set of coordinate points that define the line from which the seaward boundaries are to be measured. The continuing Pakistani wrangle with regards to Sir Creek has delayed the compilation and validation of the TSB thereby delaying the computation of the zone boundaries. This is important for India in view of the potential it has for national security, energy prospecting, mining, laying pipelines etc.

Conclusions

Pakistan faces one of the severest water shortages in the world as seen in its’ per capita availability of water per annum fall from 5300 m3 in 1951 to less than 1100 m3 today. This figure is alarming given that it is below the internationally recommended level of 1500 m3 and precariously close to the critical 1000 m3 level. Compounded with the failure to fill the country’s two largest reservoirs to capacity, declining flows in the Indus River System, elusive and contentious the inter-provincial water accord due to mutual suspicions among provinces, and an unsustainable population growth rate of 2% do not bode well for Pakistan’s water situation. Disagreements on construction of new reservoirs, declining groundwater potential[ix], and growing number of disputes with India after a relatively uneventful period of 44 years of water sharing will further complicate matters. In summation, the water situation in Pakistan (a country whose landscape is largely arid to semi-arid) is truly disastrous in spite of the Indus , its tributaries, and a treaty with generous concessions that has been implemented faithfully by upper riparian India to date in spite of grave provocations. Pakistani farmers may be forced to change to higher yielding earlier maturating crops, modify their sowing patterns, and employ micro irrigation in coming years to mitigate shortages-all of which will entail higher costs. Its frivolous objections to Indian projects and a general unwillingness to engage India constructively are partly to force India to amend the IWT to accommodate the emerging patterns of water use in Pakistan , such as water sharing during periods of shortage-a situation not envisaged in the treaty.

References and Footnotes

1. No. 6032. The INDUS WATERS TREATY 1960 between THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA , THE GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN AND THE INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT.

2. “A River Story”, Nandita Bhavnani,The Hindu, June 6, 2004
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2004060600580800.htm&date=2004/06/06/&prd=mag&

3. “The Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of the International Rivers”
http://www.internationalwaterlaw.org/IntlDocs/Helsinki_Rules.htm

4. Inter-Dominion Agreement, between the GoI and GoP on the Canal Water Dispute between East and West Punjab
http://meaindia.nic.in/treatiesagreement/1948/chap7.htm

5. “Water Rationality: Mediating the Indus Waters Treaty”,Undala Z. Alam, University of Durham
http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/publications/related_research/Alam1998.pdf

6. “ Indus Water Treaty: Case Study”, Transboundary Fresh Water Dispute Database
http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/projects/casestudies/

7. “The Indus Waters Treaty: A History” by The Henry L. Stimson Center

8. “Fostering Riparian Cooperation in International River Basins”, Syed Kirmani, Guy Le Moigne
World Bank Technical Paper # 335, January 1997

9. “World Bank Historical Chronology 1950-1959”

10. The Indus Water Treaty
http://www.waterinfo.net.pk/pdf/iwt.pdf

11. Department of Irrigation, Govt. of Rajasthan
http://www.rajirrigation.gov.in/4bhakhra.htm

12. “Rivers Water Dispute, Making of a Tragedy”, A.A. Musalman,The News International
http://www.sanalist.org/kalabagh/a-21.htm

13. “Efficient and Sustainable Irrigation Management in Pakistan ”, Illahi B. Shaikh

14. “Water Development for Irrigated Agriculture in Pakistan ”, Hafeez Akhtar Randhawa
http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/DOCREP/005/AC623E/ac623e0i.htm

15. “From Indus to Sutluj”, Frontline, Vol. 21, Issue 16,
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2116/stories/20040813004002900.htm

16. “Turbulence over Wular”,Kamaleshwar Sinha,The Tribune India
http://www.tribuneindia.com/1998/98nov07/nation.htm#8

17. “Water Disputes in South Asia ”, Farzana Noshab, Nadia Mushtaq, Strategic Studies, Summer 2001, No.3, Vol. XXI, the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad

18. “ International River Waters in South Asia : Source of Conflict or Cooperation?”
http://irs.org.pk/spotlight.htm#VIII

19. “Delhi Round of Indo-Pak Talks-II Tulbul Navigation Project/Wular Barrage”, Mallika Joseph
http://www.ipcs.org/newKashmirLevel2.jsp?action=showView&kValue=466&subCatID=null&mod=null

20. “A Treaty Questioned”, Praveen Swami, Vol. 19, Issue 09, Apr. 27- May 10, 2002 ,Frontline

21. “330-MW Kishenganga Project gets Technical Clearance”,Iftikhar Gilani, Kashmir Times
http://kasmirtimes.com/archive/0406/040619/news2.htm

22. Ibid

23. “Pakistani team will raise water issue with India ”,Khalid Mustafa,Daily Times, May 25, 2004
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_25-5-2004_pg7_26

24. “ India diverts flow of Ravi ”, Daily Times, July 15, 2004
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_15-7-2004_pg7_37

25. “ Indus River dying a slow death”, Shahid Husain, Daily Times, Apr. 26, 2004

26. “The Water Accord, 1991”
http://www.waterinfo.net.pk/fstwr.htm

27. “Consensus on Kalabagh Dam unlikely in near future” ,Nasir Iqbal, Dawn, Mar. 10, 2004

28. “ Indus Waters Imbroglio”,A.A.Musalman,The News, July 21, 2003

29. “Wheat Yields across the border”, Zafar Samdani, Telmed Pak Agriculture,
http://www.telmedpak.com/agriculturenews.asp?a=5218

30. “The Wheat crop”, Dr. S.M.Alam, Pakistan Economist, Oct. 11-17, 2004
http://www.pakistaneconomist.com/page/issue41/i&e3.htm

31. “Drought and Water Planning”, Dr. Faisal Bari, The Nation, Dec. 6, 2004
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/dec-2004/6/columns1.php

32. “The drought to come”, Editorial, The Nation, Dec. 6,2004
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/dec-2004/6/editorials2.php

33. “Raising the height of Mangla Dam”,B.A.Malik,DAWN, Aug. 27, 2001
http://www.dawn.com/2001/08/27/ebr14.htm

34. “Restructuring Tarbela”,Syed Sajid Hussain,DAWN
http://www.dawn.com/2002/11/18/ebr3.htm

35. “The dam debate yet again”, Aamir Kabir, DAWN, Dec. 25, 2000
http://www.dawn.com/2000/12/25/ebr13.htm

36. “A Battle over Indus River Water”, Erik Eckholm, New York Times, Apr. 24, 2003

37. “For an Ocean Outlook”,B.G.Verghese,The Hindu, Nov. 25, 2003
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2003/11/25/stories/2003112500921000.htm

38. “Rain to decide fate of wheat crop”
http://www.waterinfo.net.pk/NewsDetail.cfm?ID=1021

39. “Countering Baglihar: Pakistan to build Mangla-Head Marala Canal ”
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_25-1-2005_pg1_2

40. “Baglihar to dent defence”
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/jan-2005/26/index4.php

41. “ADB approves $140 Million Loan to Pakistan for National Drainage Sector Project”, Asian Development Bank
http://www.adb.org/Documents/News/1995/nr1995145.asp

“ Pakistan – National Drainage Program Project: Inspection Panel Request for Inspection”
http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000160016_20040922122706

[i] Referred to Kongrigpoke in Tibet

[ii] Referred to Tsangpo in Tibet

[iii] Tibetan mythology has it that Indus pours out of the mouth of a snow-lion.

[iv] Vyeth in Kashmiri

[v] 1 MAF = 43560 Cubic Feet or 0.274430 Million Gallons of water

[vi] ICA means the total area under irrigated crops in a year, the same area being counted twice if it bears different crops in kharif and rabi.

[vii] means that in any period of 7 consecutive days, the volume of water delivered downstream should equal the volume of water received upstream with a few minor restrictions and allowances.

[viii] Kharif sowing period is April thru’ August, Kharif maturing and Rabi sowing period is September to mid-December and Rabi maturing period is mid-December thru’ March.

[ix] WAPDA estimates that the total groundwater potential is 26 MAF, out of which 20 MAF is non-usable saline water.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/SRR/Volume13/sridhar.html

Rebirth of River Sarasvati in Rajasthan

Indira Gandhi Nahar Project (IGNP) is one of the most gigantic projects in the world aiming to dedesertify and transform desert waste land into agriculturally productive area. The project objectives include drought proofing, providing drinking water, improvement of environment, afforestation, employment, rehabilitation, development and projection of animal wealth and increasing agricultural produce.
The project construction commenced in the year 1958. Though the project is only partially complete it has shown remarkable success.

Indira Gandhi Nahar Project was designed to utilise 9,367 Mm3/yr of the total 10,608 Mm3/yr allocated to Rajasthan from the surplus waters of the Ravi and Beas rivers. The construction of the project has been divided into two stages.

Stage I

Stage I consists of a 204 km long feeder canal, having a headworks discharge capacity of 460 m3/sec, which starts from Harike Barrage. 170 km of the feeder canal lie in Punjab and Haryana and 34 km in Rajasthan.

The entire system of stage-I consists of the 204 km long feeder canal, 189km long main canal and 3454 km long distribution system, is concrete lined, and serves 553 kha of culturable command area, out of which 46 kha are served by pumping to a 60 m lift, through four pumping stations.

In addition to irrigation and domestic water supply through this project , it has been proposed by the Rajasthan State Electricity Board (RSEB) to install a total of 12.76 MW of mini hydro electric power stations, to utilise the available water fall in the canal. One such power station, with an installed capacity of 2�2 MW has already started functioning at the Suratgarh branch of IGNP stage I.

Stage II

IGNP Stage II comprises construction of a 256 km long main canal and 5,606 km of a lined distribution system, and will serve 1,410 kha of CCA (873577 ha area in flow and 537018 ha under lift), utilising 4,930 Mm3/yr of water. The main canal in the entire length was completed in the year 1986.

http://www.rajirrigation.gov.in/4ignp.htm

Revival of River Sarasvati in Harayana

2008-02-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

Charting the course: The map, based on satellite data, delineates the old channels of the river which is supposed to have originated at Adi Badri, Haryana, and dried up near the Rann of Kutch (Source: Dr Baldev Sahay, former deputy director, Space Application Centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad.

Another view of the river bed. — Photo Manoj Mahajan

Space image: Sarasvati sarovar (Adbadri) and Soma Sarovar (Kapala Mochan)

Revival of River Sarasvati in Haryana

PRESS NOTE 6 Feb. 2008

Saraswati Nadi Shodh Sansthan Haryana welcomes the move of Haryana Irrigation Department in inviting tenders for Earth work and construction of pucca structures for reviving the Saraswati Nadi from Mustafabad (R. D. 36284) in Yamuna Nagar district to Murtzapur (R.D. 207000) in Kurukshetra district ----- a stretch of about 50 Kms. Obviously, this is a step in the right direction on the part of Haryana State Government to solve the water problem of the state and they deserve all praise for their initiative.

It is also learnt that the Government purpose to divert water from Dadupur Nalvi canal to Saraswati channel. This step is alright to meet the problem immediately but in order to solve the problem on permanent basis, the State Government should simultaneously undertake the following steps:-

1. The Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO-Jodhpur) has already mapped the Saraswati paleao channels flowing in Haryana. They should be contacted to identify the spots along the Saraswati channel route where digging merits to be undertaken.

2. The ONGC has already issued a press note that under their "Social welfare programme", they are undertaking supply of fresh water as a "Corporate Responsibility". They have set up an "ONGC project (Sararwati)", under which they have drilled a deep bore in Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) last year which is yielding 76000 Ltrs of fresh drinking water every hour. They have shown their willingness to undertake similar drilling in Hayrana also. They are already negotiating with Kurukshetra University for the last 2 years. The ONGC should be approached to expedite this project in Haryana.

3. The scientists from Kurukshetra University, Geological Department have established that drinking water, as pure as Ganga Jal, is available in good quantities from the paleao channels and the same is getting recharged from Himalayas. The pressure is so acute that water has burst out at the two places in Kalayat in Kaithal district. The drilling of a few deep bores and the revival of Saraswati channel would lead to augmentation of water resources in Haryana and would solve the water problem of the state on a permanent basis.

We hope the State Government would consider the suggestions seriously and proceed accordingly.

06/02/2008

(Darshan Lal Jain)

President, Sarasvati Nadi Shodh Sansthan, Haryana

And quiet flows the Sarasvati.....

Chitleen K. Sethi (Feb. 18, 2003 Chandigarh, Tribune)

THERE are times in history when that which does not exist calls for the historians’ attention. So when historians debate about non-existent entities, the disagreement between them becomes even more complex to the lay person.

For long historians had wondered about the mighty river Sarasvati that had been mentioned in the Rig Veda and the Mahabharata. Ambitambe, Naditambe, Devitambe, Sarasvati [the best of mothers, the best of rivers, the best of goddesses, Sarasvati], this is how it was venerated. But where did it exist? One bit of contemporary mythology held that it was the river, which made a tri-junction at Tirtharaj Prayag, contemporary Allahabad with the Ganga and the Yamuna.

Another insisted that it was the river Ghaggar, which flows next door to Chandigarh. Arising from the Shiwalik ranges it wends its way through Haryana to Ganganagar in Rajasthan and then it gets lost into the desert sands.

When F. Eden Pargiter of the ICS compiled the king-lists of the Puranas (Oxford University Press, 1922) and traced the list of kings back to 120 generations before the rule of Chandragupta Maurya, he noticed that Madhyadesh, the area west of the kingdom of Ayodhya, up till the river Sarasvati in the north-west was ruled by Yayati, the great grandson of the great Pururava who had founded the Lunar dynasty, the Chandravansha. The Bhargav rishi Ushanas-Shukra, the one who supported the asuras, was said to have his ashram on the banks of the Sarasvati.

As historians of assorted hues tracked down its presence in ancient literature the riddle of the river became increasingly confounding. The river Sarasvati was said to be the mightiest of the mighty rivers. As broad as 10 km in some places, this river was the centre of civilisation and life-giver. Could the Ghaggar be this river at all? The mightiest that it did was to wash away a little mud from some spur on its banks or flood a few villages for a little while, and that too only after the heaviest of the monsoons. For most part of the year it remained a small rivulet, drying up even before summer had peaked. But as another Britisher, Oldham had discovered in the late 19th century, the Ghaggar flowed over a riverbed that was far larger than what the Ghaggar could occupy. Perhaps the larger bed was that of the Sarasvati?

With the discovery of Harappa and Mohenjodaro by archaeologists in the early 1920s, the text-based search for the Sarasvati waned considerably. The new discoveries, supported by materiel evidence that was far more tangible than mere textual descriptions, shifted the interest of historians away from the mythology of Sarasvati. The people of Haryana, though continued to believe that the Ghaggar was the Sarasvati.

Unknown to mainstream historians, though, scientists continued to take the textual references to Sarasvati seriously. A Ghosh, Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India, during the years soon after independence, began the trend of exploring the Rajasthan region for this river. Investigations which also included areas of Punjab, Haryana, western UP and Gujarat, as also across the border in Pakistan seemed to suggest that a mighty river did flow through this region, draining the water from the Siwaliks into the Arabian sea. Extensive human settlements were discovered along this river.

Then since 1972 topographical, hydrological and national remote-sensing investigation done by the Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad and the Remote Sensing Agency, Hyderabad, brought out evidence for the existence of a mighty river in the region over which the Ghaggar flows today. Tectonic disturbances around 1800 B.C. which raised the Aravalli ranges in Rajasthan, it was said, changed the directions of the important rivers flowing down the Shiwaliks. The Yamuna turned east and went on to join the Ganga, making that river the mightiest in the subcontinent. The Sutlej began to shift westwards towards the Indus. Thus the once mighty river was swallowed up by mother earth. A small seasonal rivulet was left behind which we now know as the Ghaggar.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030218/cth1.htm