Aryan invasion theory - Role in Imperialism and Nazism

Aryan invasion theory, often abbreviated to AIT, is a term used to refer to the theory developed by 19th Century European linguists to explain the similarity between Sanskrit and European languages, supposing the invasion or migration of peoples who originated outside of India. The term is now most used by Indian opponents of the theory, or to label obsolete forms of the theory. The term "Aryan" derives from the word arya, used in the Vedas in a sense of "nobility", and as an ethnic term in Iran. The phrase "Aryan ...

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• Aryan invasion theory - Origin of the theory
• Aryan invasion theory - Racial aspects of the theory
• Aryan invasion theory - Role in Imperialism and Nazism
• Aryan invasion theory - Later developments
• Aryan invasion theory - Political and religious issues
• Aryan invasion theory - Modern Theory
• Aryan invasion theory - Literature

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The theory that the original Aryans were northern Europeans who had migrated into India was used by some British imperialists as an ideological justification for British control of India, on the grounds that the founders of Indian culture were of the same race as the Anglo-Saxon invaders who established the British Raj. The theory provided an argument for an alliance between the British and the Indian ruling classes. However some Indian nationalists also took the view that the Aryans had originated outside India. In The Arctic Home in the ...

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Aryan invasion theory, Aryan invasion theory - Origin of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Racial aspects of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Role in Imperialism and Nazism, Aryan invasion theory - Later developments, Aryan invasion theory - Political and religious issues, Aryan invasion theory - Modern Theory, Aryan invasion theory - Literature

Read more here: » Aryan invasion theory: Encyclopedia II - Aryan invasion theory - Role in Imperialism and Nazism

The theory arose from the discovery by William Jones that Sanskrit was related to the classical European languages Latin and Greek, and to Avestan, the ancient language of Iran. Jones surmised that all four languages derived from a common source "which perhaps no longer exists". For Jones, writing in the 1790s, this discovery was consistent with the biblical account of the origins of the tribe of Japheth, one of the sons of Noah, who was thought to have been the ancestor of the European peoples, and to have migrated from Mount Ararat into Eu ...

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Aryan invasion theory, Aryan invasion theory - Origin of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Racial aspects of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Role in Imperialism and Nazism, Aryan invasion theory - Later developments, Aryan invasion theory - Political and religious issues, Aryan invasion theory - Modern Theory, Aryan invasion theory - Literature

Read more here: » Aryan invasion theory: Encyclopedia II - Aryan invasion theory - Origin of the theory

While the classical "Aryan invasion" scenario – the idea that a wave of Vedic Aryan invaders were the cause of the Indus Valley Civilization's destruction – has fallen out of favor, the majority of archaeologists would not dispute that the Sanskrit language and Hindu religion have some external sources in addition to internal ones. Sanskrit and other Indic languages are clearly related to the Iranian languages which historically have occupied much of Central Asia. However, even as early as the Rig-Veda (1500-1200 BCE), Sanskrit contains ...

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Aryan invasion theory, Aryan invasion theory - Origin of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Racial aspects of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Role in Imperialism and Nazism, Aryan invasion theory - Later developments, Aryan invasion theory - Political and religious issues, Aryan invasion theory - Modern Theory, Aryan invasion theory - Literature

Read more here: » Aryan invasion theory: Encyclopedia II - Aryan invasion theory - Modern Theory

Even in the 19th century several theorists had criticised the use of the term "primitive [i.e. primal] Aryans" to refer to the earliest speakers of Indo-European languages, wherever they may have originated. They argued that the word should only describe the cultures in which the term "Arya" was used – those that occupied Iran and northern India. The tribal name of the earliest speakers is unknown, hence the term Proto-Indo-Europeans is now used. Such writers stated that equation of the Indo-Iranians with northern European invaders was unj ...

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Aryan invasion theory, Aryan invasion theory - Origin of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Racial aspects of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Role in Imperialism and Nazism, Aryan invasion theory - Later developments, Aryan invasion theory - Political and religious issues, Aryan invasion theory - Modern Theory, Aryan invasion theory - Literature

Read more here: » Aryan invasion theory: Encyclopedia II - Aryan invasion theory - Later developments

Because of the view that the Aryans were the ancestors of Europeans it was assumed by many scholars that they must have been "white" caucasians. Interpretations were made of the Vedic scriptures to support this view. The Varna (caste) system associates the high-caste Brahmins with the colour white and the low-caste Shudras with the colour black. Hence it was argued that the higher castes were white-skinned invaders, who had subordinated dark-skinned natives. The derogatory application of the word "anasa" (noseless) to the Dasa, the enemies o ...

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Aryan invasion theory, Aryan invasion theory - Origin of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Racial aspects of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Role in Imperialism and Nazism, Aryan invasion theory - Later developments, Aryan invasion theory - Political and religious issues, Aryan invasion theory - Modern Theory, Aryan invasion theory - Literature

Read more here: » Aryan invasion theory: Encyclopedia II - Aryan invasion theory - Racial aspects of the theory

In modern India, the discussion of Indo-Aryan migration is charged politically and religiously. Supporters of migration are faced with several accusations. The major one is that the British Raj and European Indologists from the 19th century to the present day promoted the Aryan Invasion hypothesis in support of Eurocentric notions of white supremacy. Assertions that the highly advanced proto-Hindu Vedic culture could not have had its roo ...

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Aryan invasion theory, Aryan invasion theory - Origin of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Racial aspects of the theory, Aryan invasion theory - Role in Imperialism and Nazism, Aryan invasion theory - Later developments, Aryan invasion theory - Political and religious issues, Aryan invasion theory - Modern Theory, Aryan invasion theory - Literature

Read more here: » Aryan invasion theory: Encyclopedia II - Aryan invasion theory - Political and religious issues