The Sohan industry continued in developing forms until the third glaciations and possibly as the so called Evolved Sohan, until the fourth. It consists of typically pebble and flake tools amongst which chopper like implements predominate. Some of the pebble tools are struck from the original pebble surface without the more usual prepared striking platform. The flake tools on the other hand not infrequently show high angled platforms reminiscent of the Clactonian industry of England. As time went one, the proposition of pebble implement tended to dimish and the flakes approximated more nearly to the Levalloisian of the European mid Paleolithic. In terms of years, an antiquity of 400,000 years has been ascribed to the beginnings of the industry but necessarily with a wide margin its duration was immense, probably more than 300,000 years. Alongside the Sohan industry both in its earlier and in its later aspects appeared another of a different kind based not on flakes but upon shaped cores in other words upon implements which have been shaped in a manner which has been compared to sculpture by the reduction of a lump of quartzite to the desired form through the removal of surplus material. At first, some hammers were used for this purpose but later more sensitive instruments, bars of wood or horn were partially substituted with the result that shallower flake scars were produced resulting in a more shapely tool. The characteristics form was a pear shaped hand axe, of a type widely distributed in Europe and Africa and approximating to the Acheul of the classical typology. Although in north western India and sometimes elsewhere the flake industries and the core industries overlap, they appear to be basically of diverse human types. At Swanscombe in Kent a skull essential modern in type has been found in gravels containing core artifacts with which it was contemporary, whilst on the other hand there is a tendency for the earlier flake industries to group with obsolete human species representing decadent collateral branches from the human stem. But whether the mixed Indian industries imply the partial coexistence of widely divergent human types in the subcontinent cannot be guessed in the present complete absence of associated human bones. The recovery of human skeletons of Paleolithic age is one of the major needs of Indian archaeology. In the south of India the hand axe is the dominant Paleolithic form, and the [...]
Archive for March, 2009
Posted in 
Pre-Historic India: Pre-Sohan Valley
March 30th, 2009 
Aman On the modern computation, species of men have existed on the earth for something like 500,000 years. For the greater part of that time our knowledge of hem is confined to certain of their more durable artifacts or in comparatively rare instances, to their skeletal remains. The earliest written records- those of Egypt and Mesopotamia- take us back no more than 5000 years and the oral traditions of India being nearly two millennia later. Indeed the first unquestioned historical records of the sub continent are not earlier than the end of the sixth century BC when north western India became a province of the Achemenid Empire. In appreciating the significance of the most ancient vestiges of man, in India as elsewhere, two points may be emphasized are the outset. First, in a sparsely inhabited world devoid of systematic communication, immense periods of time may be represented even by relatively simple technical developments; a quarter of a million years may have gone to a slight improvement in the shaping of a stone. Secondly the evidence, limited as it is to imperishable materials, is not a fair index of cultural range and progress, of cultural pattern, and may tend therefore to exaggerate the appearance of stagnation. To these factors, India a third may be added. In Europe and North Africa the geological phases contemporary with early man have been systematized and can in some measure be related to one another regionally. But how far they can be equated with the geological phases which have been recognized sporadically in the Indian sub continent is much less certain. In the absence of such equation, the comparison of artifacts and technical methods in Europe and India remains of uncertain significance, and only provisional deductions can be drawn. Thus ‘hand-axes’ from Abbeville on the Somme and from the neighborhood of Madras may be almost identical in form and workmanship; but whether they represent a proximate moment in time is still matter for much further inquiry. In central Europe it is now agreed that in the Pleistocene geological period, during which man in various specific forms is known to have existed, there were four major and a number of minor phases of acute cold, marked by advances of the ice field from the mountain zones on to the adjacent lowlands. These periods of glaciations have left identifiable deposits which serve to punctuate the appearance of human [...]
The Present State of Indian Historical Studies
March 28th, 2009 Aman A brief survey of the present state of Indian historical studies will not be out of place in connexion with the foregoing review of the original authorities. No general history of the Hindu period was in existence before the publication in 1904of the first edition of the Early History of India. The more condensed treatment of the subject in this volume is largely based on the fourth edition of that work, published in 1923, but much new material has been used: and the subject has been treated from a point of view to some extent changed. Many sections of the story need further elucidation, and it is certain that research will add greatly to our knowledge of the period in the near future. THE MUSLIM PERIOD: the publication in 1841 of Elphinstone’s justly famous HISTORY OF INDIA made possible for the first time systematic study of the Indo-Muslim history of Hindustan or northern India down to the battle of Panipat in 1761. Although Elphinstones’s book, mainly based on the compilations Firishta and Khafi Khan, is of permanent value, it is no disparagement of its high merit to say that in these changed times it is no longer adequate for the needs of either the close student or the general reader. Since Elphinstone wrote many authorities unknown to him have become accessible, archaeological discoveries have been numerous, and corrections of various kinds have become necessary. Moreover, the attitude of readers has been modified. They now ask for something more than is to be found in the austere pages of Elphinstone, who modeled his work on the lines adopted by the Muslim chroniclers. The history of the Sultans of Delhi is in an unsatisfactory state. A foundation of specialized detailed studies is always needed before a concise narrative can be composed with confidence and accuracy, and many years may elapse before a thoroughly sound account of the Sultanate of Delhi can be written. Although considerable advance has been made in the study of the history of the Bahmani empire and other Muslim kingdoms which became independent of Delhi in the fourteenth century, there is plenty of room for further investigation. The story of the extensive Hindu empire of Vijaynagar (1336-1565) was originally elucidated by the labours of Robert Sewell, whose excellent work has been continued and in certain matters corrected by several Indian authors. In these days of the [...]
Realty Prices to be down by 25%
March 28th, 2009 Aman Those who wish to buy new house, Realty giant DLF has some good offers of its new housing project at Gurgaon. It is a first of its kind move and the company has written to the people who had booked flats at its New Town Heights residential project, where construction is yet to start, of an amendment to its sale agreement. The change entitles customers to benefits that will work out to a price reduction, it says, of about 20 per cent. Wire money online to India with Xoom.com for as low as $4.99. The company will offer a 5% discount on the basic sale price. Another 10% rebate would be offered for timely payment. The changes also include an increase in the compensation rates for delays from Rs 5 per sq ft per month to Rs 10. DLF has rescheduled the payment plans as well. Now, instalments have been linked to various construction milestones. All payments received over and above 35 per cent of the sale price will thus be treated as advance payment, and a rebate equivalent to 13 per cent interest will be allowed to the customer.During the times of global economic meltdown, the company said the move was in tune with its earlier announcement to cut the prices of residential projects by 15-20 per cent. “We have been implementing the price correction on a project to project basis. Different models were worked out in cities like Chennai and Bangalore. In Hyderabad, reduced prices were announced. Each model reflects the price correction happening in specific cities,” Rajiv Talwar, group executive director, DLF said. According to him, DLF’s attempt is to hold all existing clients, boost customer confidence and attract new customers, to ensure continued cash flow in the times of global recession. “We are trying to be responsive to the market,” he said. Customers, however, said it wasn’t such a generous thing. Commenting on the 10 per cent timely payment rebate, they said the rebate was on 65 per cent of the total amount, as 35 per cent was always paid as advance. “This means the rebate is effectively 6 per cent and not 10 as claimed by DLF. When the total benefit may not be more than 11 per cent, how can the company claim to offer 20 per cent discount?” they asked.The project-specific and city-specific plans also came under criticism. However, the customers agreed [...]
Singur Wants Nano Back
March 27th, 2009 Aman What? Now People of Singur want the “Nano” plant back? I thought I must have overheard something else, however, I was wrong. Global auto major Tata Motors may have moved out its Nano plant from the state but the people of Singur still want the project, says West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. “People of Singur want the factory over there, they are very hopeful and I have conveyed this to the higher authorities of the Tata Group,” Bhattacharjee said in an interview to a private regional news channel here. Almost 40 Kms from the state’s Hoogly district, was no less than battleground for almost two and half years. It all started in May 2006 when the state government allotted land for the Nano project. On Oct 3 last year the company announced it had scrapped its plans to bring out the small car, priced at Rs.100, 000, from the Singur facility. The plant was shifted to Sanand in Gujarat.Tata Motors had to wind up its Singur plant following sustained protests by a Trinamool Congress-led farmers agitation demanding return of 400 of the 997.11 acres acquired for the project. The agitators alleged that the 400 acres were forcibly taken by the government from farmers unwilling to part with their land. “I am trying to set up a factory in that plot in Singur. We have already spoken to a few Indian as well as foreign companies. In fact, now our industry secretary is in China talking to a company over there,” the chief minister said. He, however, said whichever company sets up a plant in Singur, the government would ensure that it generates as much employment as the Nano project was supposed to do and “if possible even more than that. It is very important that the youth of the state get employment,” he said. Talking about land acquisition and the compensation that was provided by the government to the farmers of Singur who gave their land for the Nano project, he said: “Around 85-86 percent of the farmers have taken compensation and of the remaining 10-15 percent many do not stay in India and few others don’t have proper papers of the land. That means the number of unwilling farmers were really small. I failed to make the opposition understand the meaning of ancillary industries. They didn’t understand that this was an integrated project and 400 acres cannot be [...]
Sources of History:Tradition, Literature & Foreign Evidence
March 27th, 2009 Aman TRADITION: Almost the sole source of undated History. The knowledge, necessarily extremely imperfect, which we possess concerning ancient India between 650-326 BC, is almost wholly derived from tradition as recorded in literature of various kinds, chiefly composted in the Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit language. Most of the early literature is of a religious kind, and the strictly historical facts have to be collected laboriously, bit by bit from works which were not intended to serve as histories. Some valuable scraps off historical tradition have been picked out of the writings of grammarians; and several plays, based on historical facts, yield important testimony. Tradition continues to be a rich source of historical information long after 326 BC. ABSENCE OF HINDU HISTORICAL LITERATURE EXPLAINED: the trite observation that Indian literature, prior to the Muslim period, does not include formal histories, although true in a sense, does not present the whole truth. Most of the Sanskrit books were composed by Brahmans, who certainly had not a taste for writing histories, their interest being engaged in other pursuits. But the Rajas were eager to preserve annals of their own doings, and took much pain to secure ample and permanent record of their achievements. They are not to blame for the melancholy fact that their efforts have had little success. The records laboriously prepared and regularly maintained have perished almost completely in consequence of the climate, including insect pests in that term, and of the innumerable political revolutions from which India has suffered. Every court in the old Hindu kingdoms maintained official bards and chroniclers whose duty it was to record and keep up the annals of the state. Some portion of such chronicles has been preserved and published by Colonel Tod, the author of the famous book, ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES OF RAJASTHAN, first published in 1829, but that work stands almost alone. The great mass of the Rajas’ annals has perished beyond recall. Some fragments of the early chronicles clearly are preserved in the royal genealogies and connected historical observations recorded in the more ancient Puranas; and numerous extracts from local records are given in the prefaces to many inscriptions. Thus it appears that the Hindus were not indifferent to history, although the Brahmans, the principal literary class, cared little for historical compositions as a form of literature, except in the form of PRSHASTIS, some of which are poems of considerable literary merit. Such [...]
Life is coming back.
March 26th, 2009 Aman It was the settlement day of March series as tomorrow is Gudi padwa and the markets had to close all the settlements today itself. There was a stunning performance from the benchmark indices today. The Sensex once again had touched the 10,000 mark. It took almost 50 sessions and it managed to close above the same level. Nifty as well tested the 3100 mark but in the course of the day it retreated from that level during the last 10 minutes of the trade. There was good buying from the foreign as well as domestic investors. Local mutual funds were also active in midcaps on NAV propping. Wire money online to India with Xoom.com for as low as $4.99. Markets stayed positive as there was buying in infrastructure, metal, banking, technology, auto, FMCG and oil&gas sectors. It kept the mood positive throughout the day. Broader indices also followed the same trend but underperformed the benchmark indices. All sectoral indices ended higher barring Realty index. The Sensex has touched an intraday high of 10,061.36, before closing the day at 10,003.10, up 335.20 points or 3.47%. The 50-share NSE Nifty shut shop at 3082.25, up 3.28% or 97.90 points, after hitting a high of 3103.35. The last time both indices had touched respective marks on January 7, 2009. The frontrunners include ONGC, Bharti Airtel, BHEL, TCS, L&T, Sterlite, Maruti and Tata Power which gained almost 6%, where as SBI, ITC, Infosys, Reliance Industries, NTPC, HDFC, HUL, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank gained upto 4%. Due to F&O expiry, there was the highest turnover and markets reported turnover of more than Rs 90,000 crore for the third consecutive day. Total traded turnover stood at Rs 97,107.51 crore. This includes Rs 15,527.42 crore from NSE cash segment, Rs 76,957.01 crore from NSE F&O and the balance Rs 4,623.08 crore from BSE cash segment. The wholesale price index (WPI) is very close to the 0% mark. Inflation for week ended March 14 came in at 0.27% — still in positive terrain — compared with 0.44% week on week (WoW). January 17 WPI inflation has been revised to 4.95% versus 5.64% provisionally. Everyone has very well-factored in a negative print in WPI and it is primarily on higher base last year. there will be lot more rate cuts going ahead. She forecasts another 50 basis points cut as far as reverse repo rate is [...]
Sources of History:Inscriptions, Coins & Archeological Evidence
March 26th, 2009 Aman The nature of the sources of original authorities for Hindu history from 650BC will not be considered briefly. The native or indigenous sources may be classified under five heads, namely: (1) inscriptions, or epigraphic evidences;(2) coins, or numismatic evidence;(3) monuments, buildings and works of art, or archaeological evidence; (4) tradition as recorded in literature; and (5) ancient historical writings, sometimes contemporarily with the events narrated. The Sixth source, foreign testimony, is mostly supplied either by the works of travelers of various nations, or by regular historians, especially Sinhalese, Greek and Chinese. The value of each class of evidence will now be explained. INSCRIPTIONS: inscriptions have been given the first place in the list because they are, on the whole, the most important and trustworthy source of our knowledge. Unfortunately, they do not at present go farther back than the third century BC with certainty, although it is not unlikely that records considerably earlier may be discovered, and it is possible that a very few know documents may go back beyond the reign of Asoka. Indian inscriptions, which usually are incised on either stone or metal, may be either official documents set forth by kings or other authorities, or records made by private persons for various purposes. Most of the inscriptions on stone either commemorate particular events or record the dedication of buildings or images. The commemorative documents range from the simple signature of a pilgrim to long and elaborate Sanskrit poems are called “PRSASTI”. The inscriptions on metal are for the most part grants of land inscribed on plates of copper. They are sometimes extremely long, especially in the south, and usually include information about the reigning king and his ancestors. Exact knowledge of the dates of events in early Hindu history, so far as it has been attained, rests chiefly on the testimony of the inscriptions. Records of an exceptional kind occur occasionally. The most remarkable of such documents are the edicts of Asoka, which in the main are sermons on DHARMA, the Law of Piety or Duty. At Ajmer in Rajasthan and at Dhar in central India fragments of plays have been found inscribed on stone tablets. Part of a treatise on architecture is incised on one f the towers at Chitor, and a score of music for the VINA, or Indian lute, has been found in the former Pudukottai State, Madras. A few of the metal [...]
Undated History of India
March 25th, 2009 Aman A body of history strictly so called must be built upon a Skelton on of chronology, that is to say, on a series of dates more or less precise. In India, as in Greece, such a series begins about the middle or close of the seventh century before Christ. Nothing approaching exact chronology being attainable for earlier times, the account which the historian can offer to those times necessarily is wanting in definiteness and precision. It is often difficult to determine even the sequence or successive order of events. Nevertheless no historian of India or the Indians can escape from the obligation of offering some sort of picture of the life of undated ancient Indian, in its political, social, religious, literary, and artistic aspects, previous to the dawn of the exact history. The early literature, composted chiefly in the Sanskrit, Pali and Tamil languages, supplies abundant material, much of which is accessible in one or other European tongue. The thorough exploration of the gigantic mass of literature especially that of the southern books is a task so vast that it cannot ever be completed. Large fields of study have been hardly investigated at all. But a great deal of good work has been accomplished, and the labours of innumerable scholars, European, American and Indian have won results sufficiently certain to warrant the drawing of an outline sketch results sufficiently certain to warrant the drawing of an outline sketch of the beginnings of Indian life and history. Although the lines of the sketch are somewhat wanting in clearness, especially with reference to the Vedic age and the early Dravidian civilization, we moderns can form a tolerably distinct mental picture of several stages of Indian history prior to the earliest date ascertained with even approximate accuracy. Definite chronological history begins about 650 BC for northern India. No positive historical statement can be made concerning the peninsula until a date much later. Even in the north all approximate dates before the invasion of Alexander in 326 BC are obtained only by reasoning back from the known to the unknown. The earliest absolutely certain precise date is that just name, 326BC. One may be glad to have in this place a brief exposition of the special difficulties which lie in the way of ascertaining precise dates for the events of early Hindu history. Numerous dates are recorded in one fashion or another, but the [...]
Congress I: Where is it going?
March 25th, 2009 Aman Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan showed congress its place when they did a secret seat sharing deal in Bihar. Sonia Gandhi must have got surprised by this move of Lalu Prasad. In fact it is not Mr. Lalu Prasad who is a problem for congress or for that matter Sonia Gandhi. The Problem lies with the Congress. Congress has a confined style of functioning and the party refuses to see any political reasoning beyond a particular point. Congress has lost its base in the Hindi speaking areas. It is increasingly dependent on its allies in different parts of the country. It has a hollow next generation leadership. The vision of the party is wandering and this is for sure that it would not take the party to anywhere. Congress has been found weak in tackling with the communal forces. Congress appeared an ineffective salesman in the past five years. The party has lost its logical appearance in UP, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh. With Mr. Narendra Modi in Gujarat, Congress has been corners for quite some time now. Rajasthan saw almost a close defeat. It was washed out in Himachal Pradesh and got trounced in Chhattisgarh. In Andhra Pradesh as well, the Congress party finds Chandra Babu Naidu, Chiranjeevi and Telangana Rashtra Samiti in its way. It was the overconfidence of Congress party in Karnataka which allowed space to a party which made its governmental debut in the electoral history of the state. In fact, the people of Kashmir also rejected the party for having rowed the Kashmir houseboat from a ready-to-take off stage to nowhere. Well, present situation shows that the allies that congress is trusting for the next elections are putting salt on its wounds. Sharad Pawar is playing smartly in Maharashtra by claiming to be a Prime Ministerial candidate. Lalu and Paswas as I said have bruised Congress in Bihar. Mulayam is playing tricks with it in UP by just offering 16 seats. Mamta Banerjee has Pranab in her grip. She left the party almost ten years back. The parties in the south have always been merciless while bargaining for the seats in their respective states. We are yet to see what sort of seat sharing congress would do in the south. Talking about numbers, Congress does not hold much in offing for the coming Lok Sabha Elections. It is already been predicted that there would [...]
