Mon Mar 03 19:19:46 UTC 2025: ## Tamil Nadu Governor Calls for Renaming Indus Valley Civilization
**Chennai, March 4, 2025** – Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi sparked controversy on Monday by advocating for the renaming of the Indus Valley Civilization to the “Saraswati Civilization,” asserting that the Rig Veda and Mahabharata are not works of fiction. Speaking at a national conference on the Indus Civilization in Chennai, Mr. Ravi claimed modern scientific methods, including astronomy, place the Rig Veda 2,000 years before the Mahabharata, which he dated to 3,100 years ago.
The Governor criticized Marxist and Dravidian ideologues for propagating what he termed “European” interpretations of Indian history, alleging these views were used to justify imperialism. He specifically challenged the view, attributed to Periyar E.V. Ramasamy Naicker, that the Aryans were barbaric invaders. Mr. Ravi insisted that the epics are not mere “intoxicated imaginations,” and that the existence of the Saraswati River, once considered mythical, has been scientifically verified through satellite imagery and nuclear physics.
He further argued that the concept of the Indus Valley Civilization itself was a tool used to diminish India’s past, and urged a shift towards recognizing the “Saraswati-Sindhu Civilization” to counter what he called a politically motivated narrative that threatened national unity. Mr. Ravi also critiqued Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and the concept of the “Aryan race” as promoted by Max Müller, arguing these ideas were used to support a racial hierarchy placing the white race as superior. The Governor’s remarks have ignited a debate among historians and scholars.
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