Shikaripura Ranganatha Rao

Shikaripura Ranganatha Rao (Kannada: ಶಿಕಾರಿಪುರ ರಂಗನಾಥ ರಾವ್) (1 July 1922 – 3 January 2013), commonly known as Dr. S. R. Rao, was an Indian archeologist who led teams credited with the discovery of a number of Harappan sites including the port city Lothal and Bet Dwarka in Gujarat.

Quotes

• When I was repairing the temple of Dwarkadeesh at Dwaraka (on land) I had to demolish a modern building in front of it and I found the 9th Century temple of Vishnu. I got curious and dug further deeper (30 ft) in 1979-80 on land. We found two earlier temples, a whole wall and figures of Vishnu. We dug further and actually found eroded material of a township lying at the bottom. Then arose the question of dating the remains of the township destroyed by the sea. Thermo-luminescence dating revealed a date of 1520 B.C. The Mahabharata refers to Dwaraka ...
  • Interview with S. R. Rao at The Hindu, Nov 20 2002.

• There is no indication of any invasion of Indus towns nor is any artefact attributable to the so-called ‘invaders’.
  • S.R. Rao, Foreword to The Aryan Invasion Theory – A Reappraisalby Shrikant Talageri, p.vi.
  • quoted in Danino, M. (2009). A BRIEF NOTE ON THE ARYAN INVASION THEORY. PRAGATI| April-June 2009

Quotes about Rao

• Addressing a rally at the conclusion of the march, Dina Pathak bitterly castigated Doordarshan for showing another "communal" item on its network—a report of the archaeological discovery, by Dr. S.R. Rao, of the remains of ancient Dwarka, under the sea, off the coast of Gujarat (Dwarka, having sunk under the sea long before the birth of Islam, any report on it would obviously be a "communal" one). Need we say more?
  • S. Talageri, "The Aryan Invasion Theory and Indian Nationalism" 1993 p 34ff