ISSN No. 0975-0312
Vedic Science International Multidisciplinary Peer-reviewed Journal
Article Information
Journal: Vedic Science
Volume: 27 | Issue: 4 | Year: 2025
Pages: 07–21
DOI: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/vedic.2025.xxx
Received: 10 July 2025
Accepted: 25 August 2025
Published: 10 October 2025
Busting the Myth of the Arya–Dravidian Divide in India
Prof. Ravi Prakash Arya, President Vedic Science Virtual Vishva Vidyapeeth USA
Vol. 27, Issue Oct. Dec. 2025
Pages: 07-21
Abstract
The Arya–Dravidian divide has long been presented as a foundational framework for understanding Indian history, linguistics, and population origins. This paper critically examines this construct and argues that it is not an indigenous civilizational reality but a colonial-era hypothesis shaped by missionary objectives, racial anthropology, and Eurocentric chronology. Drawing upon Vedic literature, Dharmaśāstra, historical linguistics, archaeology, population genetics, and astronomy-based chronology, the study demonstrates that Ārya and Drāviḍa are civilizational, cultural, and ethical descriptors rather than racial or ethnic categories. Linguistic continuity across Sanskrit and South Indian languages, genetic gradients without demographic rupture, and textual evidence from the Vedas, Manusmṛti, and Itihāsa collectively invalidate the notion of a binary Aryan–Dravidian opposition. The paper concludes that Indian civilization represents a continuous, internally diversified cultural continuum and that the Arya–Dravidian divide is best understood as a colonial narrative rather than a historical fact.
Keywords
Arya–Dravidian divide, Sanskrit, Drāviḍa, Vedas, Manusmṛti, population genetics, colonial historiography, Indian chronology
References
Arya, R. P. (2005). The Ṛgveda. Parimal Publications.
Arya, R. P. (2025). Manusmṛti: The first constitution of humanity on the globe. Indian Foundation for Vedic Science.
Caldwell, R. (1856). A comparative grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian family of languages. Harrison.
Cremo, M. A., & Thompson, R. L. (1993). Forbidden archaeology. Bhaktivedanta Institute.
Müller, F. M. (1883). India: What can it teach us? Longmans, Green, and Co.
How to cite this article
Arya, R. P. (2025). Busting the myth of the Arya–Dravidian divide in India. Vedic Science, 27(4), 7–21. https://doi.org/10.66376/vedicscience.v27.n4.1