Haryana Minister Anil Vij today asserted that renaming Indus Valley Civilisation as Sarasvati River Civilisation as per the proposal of a panel headed by the state CM will not be "rewriting" but "correcting history."
Vij made the assertion while supporting Sarasvati Heritage Development Board's proposal to rename Indus Valley Civilisation as Sarasvati River Civilisation, saying the mythical river actually existed once.
"It's an appropriate recommendation made by the board, chaired by the chief minister, as the river is no more a myth and its existence was a reality," Vij told reporters outside the state assembly.
Asked if changing the name of Indus Valley Civilisation wouldn't be rewriting history, Vij said, "When historians talked about Indus Valley, they thought Sarasvati river was a myth and that's why they did not mention it. Sindhu river was flowing and they named it everywhere."
"No one should call Sarasvati a myth since it has already been proved that the river was present. Now recent research, backed by ISRO and other reputed agencies, Sarasvati's path has been deciphered. Many things are being found at Rakhigarhi (in Hisar district) or where ever the river's path has been traced to Pakistan border," said Vij.
"So, it should be renamed as Sarasvati River Civilisation," he said.
Discarding suggestions that renaming the Indus valley civilisation reeked of the BJP agenda to "saffronise" things, Vij said "We are not rewriting history, we are correcting it."
Vij also said a large number of Harappan sites have been found in Haryana over the years.
"The nomenclature of the Indus Valley Civilisation should now be changed to the Sarasvati-Indus civilisation," he said.
The largest Harappan site Rakhigarhi and the oldest Bhirrana are both in Haryana. The state government is restarting excavation at Kunal in Fatehabad district, he said.
Haryana Archaeology and Museums Department, in collaboration with the Indian Archaeological Society and National Museum, New Delhi will soon undertake excavation at Kunal in district Fatehabad, the earliest Harappan sites in Haryana.
Vij said Kunal is located in Tehsil Ratia in district Fatehabad on the banks of now dried up river course of ancient mighty river Sarasvati.
In a written reply to a question by Congress MLA Karan Singh Dalal, the Haryana Assembly was earlier informed that "the scientific evidence/material relied on by the Government in respect of development of Sarasvati river and its heritage is derived from multiple sources and is substantial."
The Haryana government had earlier constituted Saraswati Heritage Development Board to take up research on river Saraswati.
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Earlier on Tuesday, the Haryana assembly had held a debate on the Saraswati river with the opposition parties questioning the government on its venture on the mythical river.
Ridiculing the state government's Sarasvati river project, Leader of Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala had said he had heard of digging up of a canal, but the government is busy here digging up a lost river.
"Never heard before a river being dug up," Chautala said in the State assembly on Tuesday.
Congress' Geeta Bhukkal had also ridiculed the venture saying the BJP government is trying to project as if Sarasvati river was its creation.
Haryana Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma, also the Minister of Archaeology and Museums, had, however, told the the Assembly on Tuesday that "we have undertaken digging of the route of the river from Adi Badri to Mugalwali and Ambawali on a 32-km stretch. Even scientists have seen the water.."
Notably, the government has been undertaking excavation of the river. The Manohar Lal Khattar government had organised 'Sarasvati Mahotsav' in January, under which a two-day international conference on the Sarasvati river was held at the Kurukshetra University.
Meanwhile, in reply to a question by Congress MLA Karan Singh Dalal, the Haryana assembly was today informed that the Sarasvati Heritage Development Board had been set up in October 2015 for making a conservation plan for Sarasvati river and to conduct research and spread awareness about the river and its heritage.
The Board has been sanctioned a budget of Rs 3.01 crore for 2015-16 and Rs 10 crore for 2016-17.
The assembly was informed that "demarcation of Sarasvati river as per revenue record has been completed and as per Survey of India record, it is also under process. All the gaps/discontinuity in the alignment of Sarasvati river from Adi Badri to its outfall in river Ghaggar-Sarsvati have been identified and excavation work for the internal clearance in 190 km out of 204 km has been completed."
"Identification and development of sources of water to maintain continuous flow in Sarasvati river too is under process," the Assembly was informed in the written reply.
The reply read that identification and mapping of palaeo channel of river Sarasvati has almost been completed in consultation with various agencies including ISRO and alignment of the river has been fixed.
The trial run of river Sarasvati from Uncha-Chandna, Yamuna Nagar, to Pipli, Kurukshetra was successfully carried out first time by using surplus flood water of river Yamuna through Shahabad feeder during July 2016.
