"Mythical" river Saraswati

Map of river saraswati From Ropar to Rann of kutch prepared based on satellite imagery

Two days ago there was a news by PTI on the studies conducted by ISRO on "Mythical" river Saraswathi  which went largly unreported by our mainstream media .

PTI Report:-

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has studied the palaeochannels in North West India and related them to the channels of River Saraswati. ISRO has not constituted any committee for this purpose. 
An integrated palaeochannel map of River Saraswati has been prepared from the origin in Himalayas to Rann of Kutchch. The origin of the mapped course of the River Saraswati palaeochannel in North West India was linked to Himalayan perennial source through Sutlej and Yamuna Rivers. 
The Government has made efforts to trace the origin of Saraswati river and has also constituted a committee for this purpose. 
The work on delineation of entire course of river ‘Saraswati’ in North West India was carried out using Indian Remote Sensing Satellite data along with digital elevation model. Satellite images are multi-spectral, multi-temporal and have advantages of synoptic view, which are useful to detect palaeochannels. The palaeochannels are validated using historical maps, archaeological sites, hydro-geological and drilling data. It was observed that major Harappan sites of Kalibangan (Rajasthan), Banawali and Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat) lie along the River Saraswati. 
The Minister of State in the ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions and in the Prime Minister’s Office Shri V. Narayanasamy Gave this information in reply to a written question in the lok Sabha today. 

"Mythical" river Saraswathi :-

 The term "Mythical" got associated with river  Saraswati because the river had died  some where around 3000 BC . Even though there was numerous mentions of river Saraswati in ancient Hindu scripts/philosophy/literature , there was no scientific proofs for the 19th - 20th century historians . This led to various speculations using linguistics  . One such vague speculation was river saraswati was actually Hemland River of Afghanistan . And this speculation was used by historians/indologists like Max Mueller , Romilla Thapar as a proof about Aryan Invasion .

Romila Thapar in her book "Early India: From the Origins to Ad 1300 Vol 1 " writes :-

The identification of the Ghaggar with the Sarasvati, mentioned in the Rig- Veda, is controversial. Furthermore, the early references to Sarasvati could be to the Haraxvati Plain in Afghanistan. The identification is also problematic as the Sarasvati is said to cut its way through high mountains and this is not the landscape of the Ghaggar. Although the Sarasvati is described in the Rig- Veda in glowing terms, the Sutlej and the Yamuna were already separate rivers and not flowing into the Ghaggar. This would indicate that the hymns were composed subsequent to the changes affecting the Hakra Ghaggar. Once the river had been mythologized through invoking the memory of the earlier river, its name — Sarasvati — could be applied to many rivers, which is what happened in various parts of the subcontinent 

Romila Thapar has relied upon vague  linguistic speculation and  alluded that :-

1. River  Sarasvati mentioned in Rig Veda could be referring to Haraxvati plane in Afghanistan .
2. She also hints Gaggar and saraswati are not one and the same .
3. Most importantly she is of the opinion that Vedas were composed in two different places i,e Afghanistan  and India . In other words Aryans composed earlier parts of Vedas before invasion/migration and latter half after .

With the advancement of science all these hypothesis put forward by traditional historians have been replaced  Scientific data and Archaeological evidence .

1. Satellite imagery and Archeological evidence have prooved that River saraswati flowed in In india from North  to North west india till rann of kutch.
2. River Gaggar is actually a tributary of Saraswati , which managed survive platonic shift and environmental change .
3. Early native indians composed Vedic scripture on the banks of River Saraswati which was located in India .

This ISRO's  finding about the existance of River Saraswati  is not the first one. Satellite images by LANDSAT(USA),  French SPOT Satellites and Indian Remote Sensing Satellites [IRS-1C] from ISRO itself , had already confirmed the existence of  palaeochannels , this finding is further collaborative evidence.

 IRS-1C WiFS mosaic providing a synoptic view of the
stud area covering the Indus basin and the Thar desert.

Landsat photos of the palieo channel of River Saraswati, becoming River Gaggar and merging with the sea at Rann of Kutch, Gujarat

Along with Satellite imagery we also have host of scientific data , which includes Geological and glaciological studies ,  Presence of host of Harappan archeological sites on the banks of dried up river Saraswathi also as mentioned before numerous references to river saraswathi in ancient hindu scripts.


  So what does this mean?:-

• It means another death blow to already dead theory called Aryan Invasion/Migration theory. Aryan invasion theory says Aryans invaded native land in 1500 B.C , but as the data indicates , River Saraswati flew during 6000 to 3000 BC . This means that the so called "Aryans " composed these vedic literature on the banks of river Saraswathi , also Harappans  and Aryans are one and the same . There was no invasion.
• It also means that various hypothesis about Saraswathi put forward by many leftist historians / indologists  arabout mythical river saraswati are baseless.

Reference:-

http://www.archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/aryan-harappan-myth.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lvrvJYHymu4
http://www.archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/aryan-harappan-myth.html
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440310002827
http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/rawdataupload/upload/insa/INSA_1/20005af2_189.pdf
http://historyindianized.blogspot.in/2013/02/river-saraswati-as-described-in.html