Of Language, Mythology, Contested Histories and Conflict

The theme of the book remains one of the most contentious theories in the current scholarship of early histories, linguistics, heritage and archaeology cross-cutting cultures, nations and continents. An issue that has provoked imagined identities from the nineteenth century and has been constantly reworked, re-fueled to suit political aspirations till date. Thus, this has generated substantial popular interest, which has materialized in a few works engaging the general reader. One recalls, from recent years, Tony Joseph’s Early Indians (2018), a couple of articles in GN Devy et al eds. The Indians: Histories of a Civilization (2023), and still an earlier one authored by Rajesh Kochhar (The Vedic People: Their History and Geography (2000). Naturally, Charles Allen’s posthumously published work invokes a curiosity in what more it has to offer.