Noted Marine Archaeologist Dr S.V. Rao has been honoured with the prestigious 10th Dr Wakankar national award on September 29. The award, which consists of Rs 51,000, a citation, memento, shawl and coconut, was presented by former Union H.R.D Minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi in New Delhi. Justice M.N. Rao, former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court, presided over the function.
Instituted by Akhil Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojna and presented by Baba Saheb Apte Smarak Samiti (Delhi) the award is given every year to a great Indian historian who has worked hard to discover the glorious chapters latent in the history of India and its civilisation. The first award had been given to Sriram Sripad Sathe in 1998 who made a mark in historiography, chronology and Aryan civilisation studies as well as studies in Hindu secularism. The second award was given to Dr S. Kalyanraman in 1999. The other recipients included Dr Vasudev Poddar (2000), Shri V.K.K. Puri (2001), Shri N.S. Rajaram (2002), Prof. Shivaji Singh (2003), Shri Michael Danino (2004), Dr Chanderkant Bali (2005) and Baba Saheb Purindre (2006).
Born in 1922, Dr S.R. Rao has discovered a large number of Harappan sites including the famous port-city of Lothal in Gujarat. His excavations at Rangpur and Lothal after the Partition of India not only added a new province to the Indus Empire but also cleared many doubts about the survival and contributions of Indus civilisation to the progress of mankind. He is a versatile scholar whose knowledge of Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages coupled with his scientific approach has enabled him to decipher the Indus script. The history books in the country have already started incorporating his findings on Indus language and religion. After serving the Archaeological Survey of India for 32 years he retired in 1980. He is the pioneer of Marine Archaeological studies in the country and has his credit the discovery and underwater excavation of the legendary city of Dwarka of Mahabharata fame. His excavations have established the authenticity of the great epic as a source of history. He has been honoured with scores of awards and fellowships. Presently he is guiding young research scholars and excavations of Dwarka, Poompuhar and Goa.
Presenting the award Dr Joshi called upon the young research scholars of the country to conduct deep studies and research to prove whether India is a nation, a subcontinent or a group of some castes. ?It needs deeper studies to remove the mist that has been created by some so-called modern historians. Dr S.R. Rao has rendered valuable services and has successfully proved the authenticity of Indian Vedic history. The truth of Indian history must come out before the world,? he said.
He said what Dr S.R. Rao has done cannot be explained in words. Like Dr Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar his contribution is also immense in this regard. Like a true sadhak, he dedicated his whole life to this project. That is why the whole world has started accepting his work. He said the people accepted the myth of Aryan invasion without going into facts. ?The sankalp that we chant before starting any work explains the history of our civilisation very scientifically and it connects ourselves to our ancestors. Though, we read this sankalp everyday, we do not know its meaning and look at our own history through western glass. Our kaalganana (calculation of time) is very scientific. The science has accepted it but the so-called modern historians have still reservations. The western history begins from Jesus Christ and it regards everything prior to it complete myth. Fact is that we are connected with the first man of the universe, then why should we begin our history from Jesus Christ? Until this sight of history is changed, we cannot connect ourselves to our past,? Dr Joshi added.
Veteran Sangh Pracharak and guide of the Samiti, Thakur Ram Singh said Baba Saheb Apte was first Pracharak of RSS. His life was marked by audacity determination and strong common sense, which helped him to develop originality of thoughts. He said two tasks were very dear to him besides the normal work of a swayamsevak. One, the restoration of true history of India and cleaning it of the biases. Two, adjunct with it was the rehabilitation of Sanskrit as a popular language and an inevitable source of writing true history of India. He said Baba Saheb Apte Samiti was founded in 1973 to carry on and complete the work undertaken by him.
Presiding over the function, Justice (retd.) M.N. Rao said Dr S.R. Rao has done a very great job. He established with fact the Harappan civilisation and that there is no truth in Aryan invasion theory. He said religion is nothing but what is belief. There are things, which cannot be proved with evidence and traditions and the acceptance by the society prove them. He said the science is still developing and beliefs cannot be established by it. Earlier, after receiving the award, Dr S.R. Rao thanked the Baba Saheb Apte Smarak Samiti for presenting him the award. He said the award has enhanced his responsibilities. Shri Sudarshan Sarin, working president of Baba Saheb Apte Smarak Samiti and Dr Suresh Vajpayee, patron, were also present on the occasion.
