In the last few decades, the Archaeological Survey of India or ASI has found itself at the centre of controversies—its excavations shaping not just academic debates but also courtroom battles and electoral narratives.The role of the ASI came under judicial scrutiny in one of India’s most polarising legal battles: the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute.Since the Supreme Court verdict, civil suits demanding ASI surveys have been filed to prove that various mosques and dargahs were built over Hindu temples. In India and across the world, archaeology is no longer just about the past—it’s where science and politics collide, challenging the very idea that they are separate domains.
Reporter: Jagisha Arora
Script: Rani Jana
Camera: Vikram Sharma
Editor: Ehraz Zaman
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Reporter: Jagisha Arora
Script: Rani Jana
Camera: Vikram Sharma
Editor: Ehraz Zaman
Follow us:
Website: https://www.outlookindia.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Outlookindia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outlookindia/
X: https://twitter.com/Outlookindia
Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaNrF3v0AgWLA6OnJH0R
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OutlookMagazine
Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/outlookindia
#Archaeology #ASI #ArchaeologyAndPolitics #Politics #Excavation #IndusValleyCivilisation #Mohenjodaro #HarappaCivilisation #WhatLiesBeneath
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00:00In India and across the world, archaeology is no longer just about the past, it's where
00:06science and politics collide, challenging the very idea that they are separate domains.
00:13In the last few decades, the Archaeological Survey of India or ASI has found itself at
00:19the center of controversies, its excavations shaping not just academic debates but also
00:27courtroom battles and electoral narratives.
00:30Welcome to Deep Dive with Outlook, today we will discuss the politics of archaeology in
00:37India.
00:38In September 2024, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin publicly acknowledged the contributions
00:46of John Marshall, the British archaeologist who oversaw the discovery of the Indus Valley
00:52Civilization.
00:54He credited Marshall for linking the Indus Valley to Dravidian culture, countering narratives
01:00that seek to associate the civilization with Vedic Aryans.
01:04A month before Stalin's remarks, the Union Government-funded NCRT released a Class VI
01:12social science textbook referring to the Harappan civilization as the Sindhu-Saraswati civilization.
01:20On January 5th, while inaugurating an international conference in Chennai and laying the foundation
01:26stone for a statue of Marshall, he announced a $1 million prize for anyone who could decipher
01:35the Harappan script, a challenge that directly counters Hindutva efforts to claim the civilization
01:42as Vedic.
01:43The question of who the Indus Valley people were remains unresolved.
01:48Were they Dravidian?
01:49Were they Indo-Aryan?
01:50It depends on the narrative of the political party, whether it's Stalin espousing Dravidian
01:59greatness or the BJP preaching Sanatan dharma.
02:03The Indus Valley debate took a new turn after the partition of India in 1947.
02:09With Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro falling in Pakistan, Indian archaeologists shifted their focus
02:16to sites within India.
02:19This led to major discoveries in Lothal and Dholavira in Gujarat, Kalibangan in Rajasthan
02:26and Alamgirpur in Uttar Pradesh in the 1950s and 1960s.
02:32In 1964, archaeologist Bal Lal proposed renaming the Indus Valley civilization as the Indus-Saraswati
02:42or Sindhu-Saraswati civilization.
02:44This was based on the assumption that many Harappan sites had developed along the Saraswati
02:51river, a river mentioned in the Vedas but absent from contemporary geography.
02:57Since the NDA regime, the ASI and other government-backed organizations, including the Indian Space
03:05Research Organization, have been engaged in Saraswati research.
03:10The role of the ASI came under judicial scrutiny in one of India's most polarizing legal battles,
03:17the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute.
03:21The Allahabad High Court directed the ASI to survey the disputed site in Ayodhya, ensuring
03:28equal representation of both Hindu and Muslim communities in the ASI team.
03:34However, the Muslim side reportedly raised objections, alleging that the ASI team had
03:42an overwhelming Hindu presence, reflecting bias in the findings.
03:47Delhi-based lawyer Syed Muhammad Nizamuddin Pasha points out that the ASI head was even
03:54replaced by the court, though he remained involved in the final report's preparation.
04:00In the end, the Supreme Court upheld the credibility of the ASI's findings, accepting
04:07that remnants of earlier religious structures lay beneath Babri Masjid.
04:13The Ayodhya case set a precedent since the Supreme Court verdict, civil suits demanding
04:19ASI surveys had been filed to prove that various mosques and dargahs were built over Hindu
04:26temples.
04:28One of the ongoing cases is the dispute over the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi.
04:34Petitioners claim a Shiva temple once stood at the site and demanded its restoration.
04:41The court has ordered the ASI to conduct a scientific investigation to determine whether
04:47the mosque was built over a pre-existing Hindu structure.
04:52So is archaeology in India a pursuit of historical truth or a tool of ideological warfare?
04:59The way we interpret the past is determining how we build the future.
05:05And in India, that battle is far from over.