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Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Monday participated in the inaugural session of the two-day National Conference on "Indus Civilisation: Its Culture & People - Archaeological Insights," organized by the Centre for South Indian Studies.
The special conference was held at DG Vaishnav College in Chennai. Addressing the Aryan-Dravidian debate, he stated, "Never before had 'Aryan' appeared as a race. None of our literature, either Sangam or Vedic, has used the word 'Aryan' as a race. In fact, in our more than 2,000-year-old literature, the word Aryan has never been used. We know from our literature what Aryan means. In the last 60-70 years, the Dravidian ideology has created a narrative of differences between Aryan and Dravidian, portraying Aryans as a race and propagating the theory of an Aryan invasion of India. Many of our own people have been influenced by this narrative." At the event, Governor RN Ravi highlighted the challenges civilisations face and remarked, "There are challenges in civilization. No other civilization has suffered so much violence with western interest. First by Europeans... For them, it was a necessity." Elaborating on the origins of the Aryan race theory, Governor Ravi said, "How did the Aryan-as-race theory come up? It emerged out of the compulsion of Europeans to justify imperialism and their control over the world." He further emphasized the need to re-examine the historical narrative, asserting, "Aryan and Dravidian as separate races is a lie. The historical truth of the Saraswati-Indus Civilization should come out. Can we call the Indus Civilization the Saraswati Civilization? Can that be done?" Reflecting on the writings of social reformer E. V. Ramasamy Naicker (Periyar), Governor Ravi remarked, "As I was reading some of the works of E. V. Ramasamy Naicker, he says Aryans were barbarians, they came and invaded. They were all drunk and intoxicated, dancing and singing. All imagined Ramayana and Mahabharata... drunken barbarians." (ANI)
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