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Ancient India was shaped by waves of migration and mixing | Aeon Essays

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is a historian, writer, and public health expert. He is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for the Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania, US. Edited bySam Haselby Listen to this essay 36 minute listen South Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, or ‘India’ in its pre-nation-state meaning, boasts a remarkable diversity in ethnicities, cultures and languages. For more than two centuries, scholars and amateurs from around the world have attempted to explore it and make sense of it – though, unsurprisingly, these attempts have had a raucous ride. The more recent genetic studies (including with ancient DNA) on early population movements into and across South Asia – which have captured the attention of scholars and the public for more than a decade now – are only the latest to witness the impassioned contests that are a familiar rite of passage for any new idea in the South Asian history discourse. Constant scholarly activity as well as relentless public commentary h

South Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, or ‘India’ in its pre-nation-state meaning, boasts a remarkable diversity in ethnicities, cultures and languages. For more than two centuries, scholars and amateurs from around the world have attempted to explore it and make sense of it – though, unsurprisingly, these attempts have had a raucous ride. The more recent genetic studies (including with ancient DNA) on early population movements into and across South Asia – which have captured the attention of scholars and the public for more than a decade now – are only the latest to witness the…

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