What is the Aryan invasion theory?
This is a disputed theory of the origin of the caste system and untouchability, espoused first by British and European colonialists to justify white supremacy and now by Hindu nationalists to justify the status quo. The theory is that the Indian Vedic culture arose from an ancient invasion of India by “Aryans”, in about 500 BCE (some say 2000 BCE). Supposedly, the invaders were already organised into three groups, thus becoming the three upper castes, and the mainly Dravidian native inhabitants were conquered, becoming Sudras and Dalits. Various linguistic and genetic research has attempted to support the theory. However, discovery of archaeological remains of the advanced Indus valley civilisation, which predated the supposed Aryan invasion and surpassed the Aryans at the time, tended to undermine the invasion theory. The alternative, now attracting a degree of academic consensus, is a theory of a long-standing and highly developed indigenous civilisation that was nevertheless influen
