Forgotten Indian researcher who revealed ancient civilization

The Indian archaeologist, whose career was marked by the brilliance and dispute, made one of the greatest historical discoveries in the world. However, it remains largely forgotten today.

In the early 1900s, Rahaldas Bnergi (also written by the bannergi) discovered Mahendj -Dar – means “a mound of dead people” in the language of Cindy – in modern Pakistan. It was the largest city of the thriving Indo (Harappen) civilization, which reached from northeast Afghanistan to northwestern India in the bronze era.

Banerjee, an unrestrained researcher and a talented epigraph, worked in the India’s archaeological service (ASI) when the country was under British colonial rule. He spent months, traveling to the far corners of the subcontinent, seeking ancient artifacts, ruins and scripts.

But while its opening Mahendjo was reliable, the bannergi’s legacy was clouded with disputes. His independent strip and contrary to the colonial protocol often landed in trouble – twisting his reputation and possibly even erasing parts of his contribution to global memory.

Interestingly, Banerjee reports about Mohenjo-Daro have never been published asi. Later, archaeologist PM Mishra accused the then -chief John Marshal of suppressing the bannergi’s conclusions and stated a merit for the opening.

“The world knows that the marshal has discovered the ruins of civilization, and it is taught in institutions. Banerjee is a minor footnote,” Professor Mishra detach Times of India.

In her book, Search for forgotten cities: How was Indo’s civilization revealedLahira’s historian writes that the bannergi “lacks diplomacy and tact, and showed a high hand that crashed the feathers.” Her book also sheds light on the disputes in which he was involved in his time in ASI.

She notes how he tried to acquire the inscriptions and images from the museum in the northeast of India without approval and knew his boss.

Another time, the bannergi tried to transfer several stone sculptures from the Museum in Bengal to which it was placed without the necessary permits.

In another case, he acquired an antique picture for the amount without consulting the superiors who thought he had paid more than necessary.

“Many Banerjee talents seemed to include the people’s wrong blow,” Lahir writes.

But the bannergi remains a great figure among world historians and scientists in Bengal because of his connection with Mohendjo.

He was born in 1885 in a wealthy family in Bengal.

The medieval monuments that scattered Baharampur, the city in which he grew up his interest in history, and he was engaged in the topic in college. But he always had an adventurous series.

One day, when he was instructed to write an essay on the Scythian period of Indian history, he went to the museum in the neighboring state to study the sculptures and scripts from that era.

In her book, Rahaldas Bnergi’s Life and WorksThe author of Yama Pande notes how the bannergi joined Asi as an assistant in 1910 and quickly rose into ranks to become an archaeologist in Western India in 1917.

It was in this post that he first looked at the Mohendjo Dara in Sinda in 1919. In the following years, he conducted a number of excavations at this place, which found some of the most entertaining finds: ancient Buddhist stupas, coins, seals, pots and microliths.

From 1922 to 1923, he discovered several layers of ruins that had tips on different urban settlements that appeared in the region, but most importantly, the oldest, which existed about 5300 years ago – the Indo Valley civilization.

At the time, historians have not yet found a complete scale of the Indus civilization, which we know, covered the space of approximately 386,000 square miles (999 735 km) along the Indo River Valley.

Three seals from the excavations of the bannergi gave birth to images and scripts similar to those from the Harappp in the province of Punjab in modern Pakistan. This helped to create a connection between the two sites, spilling light on the great reach of the Indo Valley civilization.

But by 1924 the funds banerjee on the project had dried up, and it was also transferred to East India. He had no additional contacts with the site, and he did not participate in the excavations there, Pande writes in his book.

But Lahira notes that the bannergi was transferred at his own request, after he touched on his costs. He did not take into account several work -related costs.

It was also found that the bannergi used grants for excavations to buy office furniture, and its travel costs were considered excessive.

His explanations could not convince his superiors, and disciplinary was recommended. After some talks, the bannergi was granted his request and transferred to another region.

Banerjee continued to work with ASI in eastern India. He spent most of his time in Kolkata (now Calcutta) and oversee the work to restore many important monuments.

He left Asi in 1927, but his departure was marred by the dispute. In the years before leaving, he became the main suspect in the case of the theft of the idol.

It all started in October 1925, when the bannergi visited the respected Hindu shrine in Madzha -Pradesh, which housed the stone idol of the Buddhist goddess. The bannergi accompanied two low -rating assistants and two workers, Lahir notes in his book.

However, after their visit, the idol went missing, and the bannergi was involved in the thefts. He denied any participation in the disappearance and the investigation was launched.

Later, the idol was restored in Kolkata. Despite the fact that the case against the bannergi was dismissed and the allegations were found unfounded, Marshal insisted on his resignation.

Going out of ASI, the bannergi worked as a professor, but encountered financial difficulties from his lush lifestyle.

Historian Tapati Huha-Takurt detach A telegraph newspaper that bangs good food, horse cars and friends. In 1928, he entered the Hindu University of Banaras (BHU) as a professor. He died only two years later at the age of 45.

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