MYTH, NATIONALISM AND ARCHAEOLOGY: PUBLIC INTERPRETATION OF ANCIENT INDIAN CIVILIZATIONS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Abstract

The archaeological interpretation of ancient Indian civilizations—most notably the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC)—has increasingly become a contested space where post-colonial nationalism, religious identity, and mytho-historical narratives intersect with empirical scientific data. In the 21st century, the public consumption of India’s deep past is no longer mediated exclusively by academic archaeologists but is shaped by digital media, political ideology, and a resurgence of “indigenous” claims to Vedic continuity. This research paper reviews the tension between mainstream archaeology and alternative nationalist narratives, specifically the “Out of India” theory (OIT) and the proposition of a “Vedic Harappa.” Using a comparative analysis of museum exhibitions, school textbooks, social media discourse, and recent judicial remarks on the character of the IVC, this paper evaluates how ancient material culture is mobilized to construct a unified, continuous, and Hindu-centric origin story. The findings suggest that while post-colonial legitimation is a valid concern, the conflation of myth as history—specifically the identification of the mythical Sarasvati river with the Ghaggar-Hakra paleochannel and claims of Aryan indigenism—rises to the level of epistemological rupture. The paper concludes that sustainable public interpretation requires a tripartite model: respecting the historicity of oral traditions, protecting scientific rigor through transparent peer review, and rejecting essentialist nationalism in favor of pluralistic heritage management.