An erudite scholar, Major General Dr. Gagandeep Bakshi SM, VSM who has written more than 33 books and many research papers, is a decorated military veteran. He received Vashisht Seva Medal for commanding a battalion in the Kargil War and the Sena Medal for distinguished service in commanding a battalion during counter-insurgency drives.
Major General Bakshi holds a Doctorate in History. His recent book-The Saraswati Civilization: A New Paradigm in Ancient Indian History provides an insight into the theories surrounding the Aryan Rig Vedic Civilisation and you get the answers of a plethora of questions about Bharat’s (India’s) ancient civilisation and its continuity into modern times… with an avalanche of empirical evidence and scientific corroboration through the rediscovery and analysis of the Saraswati River referred to in the eternal Vedas.
Here is a review of his an incredible and invaluable piece of work which brings out compilation of several new facts to public discourse on some of the most contentious yet important aspects pertaining to identity of the Indian people.
Book: The Sarasvati Civilisation;
Author: Maj. Gen. G.D. Bakshi (Retd); Publisher: Garuda;
Pages: 240; Price: INR 399.
“The quest for an ancient river that was irrevocably lost some 3,900 years ago, is quintessentially a quest for a lost sense of self in the Indian civilization. It is in essence, a quest for unraveling its true identity. It is about — who are we as Indians,” writes Maj. Gen. Bakshi, a military historian and decorated combat veteran.
Then, there are questions like who were the Indo-Aryans, who laid the foundations for our present day Hindu culture in India? Were they aliens or were they indigenous? If they were aliens, where did they come from? Where is the mythical Aryan homeland? Is it in Turkey-Anatolia? Or is it the steppes of Central Asia? Where do Indians have to go in search of their roots?
“A quiet revolution has taken place in our awareness of our history as a people. As more truth seeps through the dragnet of the Leftist censors, Indians are becoming acutely conscious of their past. The Landsat satellite had beamed back images of the dried out Sarasvati river in the 1970s. Slowly, as the pieces of the jigsaw were pierced together, the Indians began to uncover a past of a lost civilizationan glory; of great antiquity, sophistication and above all, an astonishing degree of cultural continuity and persistence over time and space. India has a heritage that comes unbroken from the remote past to the current era. India is beginning to discover its lost sense of self,” Bakshi writes in attempting a paradigm shift in ancient Indian history.
You don’t have to agree with everything the book says, but a change in perspective is always welcome.
The 2nd edition in English and translations in Hindi and Kannada will be released on 19 October 2020 at 7 pm by Dr Subramanian Swamy,MP.
