Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From

by Tony Joseph

The suggestion that modern Indians carry a significant amount of west-Eurasian-related ancestry was unpalatable to many, probably because it seemed to support the long-standing theory that it was a migration of Steppe pastoralists from central Asia sometime within the last 4000 years that brought Indo-European languages, including an early version of Sanskrit, and related cultural practices and concepts to India. These Indo-European-language speakers called themselves Aryans, and for many in the right wing the idea that they came to India from elsewhere is unacceptable because they believe it would dethrone Sanskrit and the Vedas as the singular and fundamental source of Indian culture, as it would mean that the mighty Harappan Civilization that has left an indelible impression on Indian history and culture would have preceded their arrival. Reich describes the reaction to the findings of the research in his 2018 book, Who We Are and How We Got Here: