Are the Aryans native to India, or are they outsiders?" — this debate has persisted for a long time. On one side stands the Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT), while on the other is the Out of India Theory (OIT). According to AIT, Indo-European languages and the Aryans came to India from Central Asia, whereas OIT posits that India itself is the homeland of the Aryans, and Sanskrit is the mother of Indo-European languages like Bengali, Assamese, English, German, and others.
In the first episode of our series on the religions of the Indian subcontinent, we discussed the religion of the Indus Valley Civilization. Now, in this second episode, before delving into the history of Vedic religion, it is essential to clarify whether the Aryans were native to India or truly outsiders. This question is not only crucial for understanding the history of religion but is also highly relevant to the broader history of India.