Science, Myth and History: Tracing the Hindu Nationalist Discourse on Aryan Invasion Theory and its Discursive Shift with the Re-discovery of Saraswati

The inherent ambiguity and uncertainty in the question of the origin of the Aryans have engaged scholars for a long time. Rooted in philology, the 19th-century Aryan invasion theory (AIT) was challenged by the emerging scientific disciplines of archaeology, hydrology, paleontology, and genetics, which created an avenue for alternative historiography, where Hindutva locates itself. This paper traces the evolving Hindu nationalist engagement with the AIT and argues that the re-discovery of the Saraswati in the 1980s marked a shift in Hindu nationalist response to the Aryan question as they adopted the language of science to challenge AIT/AMT and to advocate for the indigenous origins of the Indo-Aryans. The study outlines the colonial Hindu response to the philological construction of AIT and its implications for the Indian nation. It then analyses the arguments of neo-Hindu nationalist works from 1980 to 2019 and examines their scientific and historical positioning as they engage with evolving scientific research on the Saraswati River. In the end, the debate on the interpretation of evidence and ideological bias is evaluated to advocate for objectivity in the adoption of scientific research in interdisciplinary fields to foster a constructive debate in an increasingly polemical discussion.