New Delhi: The latest discovery of the pre-historic carvings in Aravalli has rekindled the debate between environmental activists and the Haryana government over the need for protection and deeper research of Mangar Bani forest area, an archaeological site between Faridabad and Gurugram districts, located near the Delhi-Haryana border.
The archaeologists believe that petroglyphs (rock carvings) found Friday in Sohna Tehsil’s Mandawar and Badshahpur Tethar villages by environmental researcher and activist Sunil Harsana likely belong to the Paleolithic era, or the Stone Age, that dates back to 10,000 BC.
The present site is 10-15 km away from Mangar Bani, where Harsana discovered cave paintings in May 2021 while carrying out a wildlife survey.
“Though both (cave paintings and rock carvings) appeared to be the same, there were some differences like the paintings were found inside a cave but these carvings were found in an open site on rocks/stones. The earlier paintings were more elaborate,” he told ThePrint.
A proposal for a detailed survey of about 5,000 hectares of Mangar Bani region was sent to the Haryana government by the state archaeological department in 2021, following the discovery of Stone Age tools and cave paintings belonging to the Paleolithic era, said Banani Bhattacharya, Deputy Director, Haryana Department of Archaeology and Museums.
While archeologists and environmental activists believe that the latest discoveries are “significant” for Haryana and call for intensive research and conservation of the area, the archeological department’s proposal is yet to receive a nod from Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
Meanwhile, M.D. Sinha, principal secretary, tourism department termed the proposal “ambitious” and said that the state government will assess it and take a further decision on specific areas that needed to be studied or protected.
“The proposal was including a lot of area without mapping or verifying the authenticity of the findings. The government itself will carry out an investigation of an anthropological and archeological approach to scientifically study these sites as well as map the areas that require further research. Till then, we can can’t take step without doing proper investigation from our side,” Sinha said.
Notably, in 2016, the state forest department demarcated 1,943 acres of land in Aravallis as Mangar Bani forests, that the environmentalists considered was a positive move in order to protect the hills. The same year, the state government notified the area as a ‘no construction zone’.
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Petroglyphs of Aravallis
Harsana, a resident of the Mangar Bani region, has worked for 11 years to protect it and the other areas of Aravallis. “Conservation is my priority and this (discovery of pre-historic paintings and artefacts) is a different angle that can be used to further my goal of conservation,” he said.
Archaeologists and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) experts are referring to the rock carvings as petroglyph, an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading. The petroglyphs found in Aravallis are in the shape of human/animal footprints also termed ’Petrosomatoglyph’ that can be either man-made or naturally occurring.
Banani Bhattacharya said that she hadn’t visited the site yet but learnt about the “fossilised footprints” found on the outcrop (a large mass of rock that stands above the surface of the ground) that can be studied to find the time period they belong to.
According to Bhattacharya, this site was pre-historic and combined with earlier findings formed a part of continuous civilisation ranging from pre-historic times to the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty in 8th-10th century.
Divay Gupta, Principal Director of Architectural Heritage Division, INTACH, said it was the first time in Aravallis such petroglyphs were found as they differed from the rock paintings that used mineral colours to depict geometric shapes, foliage, animals and human figures.
Echoing Bhattacharya, Gupta said that the latest find is an evidence of continuous civilisation about 10,000 to 35,000 years old and suggested that it might belong to a period earlier than Paleolithic age but said that it overlapped with the 2021 pre-historic findings and needed further research.
“There is now a debate about the functions of these carvings. Some people say that they might be territorial engravings that are created to mark one’s area, while others believe that they might be ritualistic (in nature). But then again, we are not sure what rituals would they (early men) would perform or even if they had a religion. All these are speculations,” he said.
The speculation of ritualistic practice is a result of ‘cup markings’ that were also found at the site which show how pre-historic people would have been using tools for grinding and polishing.
“It is a significant discovery for Haryana which has always been called as the land of Harappan civilisation but now you can find evidence from even earlier times, which is interesting. Our belief is that it might be a part of a catchment area or secondary site because of the cup marks, where tools would be brought from home either for ritualistic purposes or industrial (selling it further),” said Bhattacharya.
She also explained how they could only research and analyse further to ascertain anything till the proposal, which was under consideration from the CM, was approved.
Need for conservation
The Mangar Bani region is not just historically rich but ecologically important, which has led to calls by activists and environmentalists for its protection in the past as well.
In 2021, conservationists and experts suggested that the archaeological findings could help the residents of the Mangar Bani region get “more secure legal protection” for their forests, since there was also talk from the state government to protect the forests under the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act. However, there was no progress as the proposal for detailed research of the area is pending with the government.
While Neelam Ahluwalia, founder member of Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement, said that she could not say much about the findings without an archaeology expert’s opinion, she asserted that the region needs to be protected because of ecological reasons relating to the preservation of rich wildlife, underground water table etc. She added if the archeological findings could help accelerate it, that would be good.
According to INTACH’s Gupta, it is very important to conserve the region because it is very fragile ecologically and can be destroyed since it may become a magnet for tourism. People can scribble their names on these rocks without understanding its importance and then it is lost to us forever, he added.
Meanwhile, acknowledging the significance of the area, Principal Secretary Sinha said: “The area (Mangar Bani) is significant in displaying human evolution, having evidence of both Vedic and pre-Vedic times. It cannot be older than 30,000 years but it is the cradle of civilisation and has the potential to change how the history is viewed.”
(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)
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