Aryan and Non-Aryan in India

Abstract

is well known for his books on the history of ancient India, among them The History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas, Studies in Indian History and Culture, and above all The Wonder That Was India. He has recently edited A Cultural History of India. The holder of a Ph.D. from the University of London, he was professor of the history of South Asia in the School of Oriental and African Studies of that university for many years. He is now professor and chairman of the Department of Asian Civilizations at the Australian National University.

Can the Semasiographic/logographic Indus Script Answer the Dravidian Question? Insights from Indus Script's Gemstone Related Fish-Signs, and Indus Gemstone-Word 'maṇi'

“…Now, the use of the retroflex sound "ṇ" in "maṇi", possibly corroborates its Non-Indo-Aryan, ancient Dravidian origin. In a passage of Aitareya-Araṇyaka, certain Vedic sages instruct that when one is in doubt about whether a word should be pronounced with a dental "n" or a retroflex "ṇ", according to the teachings of sage Māṇḍūkeya, one should pronounce it with retroflex "ṇ" (Deshpande, 1979). As Deshpande contends, such passages conclusively prove that in the Vedic era, the doctrine of retroflex sounds such as "ṇ" or "ṣ", were not accepted by all the composers and reciters of the Vedic hymns.…”