Birth Anniversary of Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar

• 05 May 2025

Why in News? 

On 4 May 2025, Dr. Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar’s birth anniversary was celebrated by remembering his contributions in a lecture series organised in Ujjain. 

Key Points 

• About Dr. Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar: 
  • He was a great archaeologist, painter, historian and cultural researcher of India. 
  • He was born on 4 May 1919 in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh. 
  • Contribution:  
    • In 1957, Dr. Wakankar discovered the ancient rock paintings of Bhimbetka caves located near Bhopal , which are evidence of the ancient human civilization. 
    • By exploring the direction of flow of the extinct Saraswati river in Gujarat region, he proved that it flowed in India only, thus providing new evidence to the Indus Saraswati civilization. 
    • His research challenged the Aryan-Dravidian invasion theory and showed that the continuity of Indian civilization developed on Indian soil itself. 
    • He discovered thousands of rock shelters in different parts of India and photographed, analysed and exhibited them at home and abroad. 
    • He excavated in the areas of Maheshwar, Nawada Toli , Manoti, Awara, Indragarh, Kayitha, Mandsaur, Azadnagar, Dangwara etc. 
    • He proved the historicity of Vikram Samvat by obtaining the seal from the reign of Emperor Vikramaditya . 
    • He also founded the Wakankar Indological Cultural Research Trust in Ujjain. 
  • Honors
    • Recognizing his contribution, the Government of India honored him with Padma Shri in 1975 . 
    • The Madhya Pradesh government has named its eighth tiger reserve (Ratapani Tiger Reserve) as Dr. Wakankar Tiger Reserve in his honour. 
    • Dr. Wakankar Research Institute located in Ujjain is active in the preservation and propagation of his work. 

 Bhimbetka 

• Location: It is situated south of Bhopal in the Vindhya mountain range of Madhya Pradesh, where there are rock shelters with more than 500 rock paintings. 
  • Bhimbetka caves were discovered by V.S. Wakankar in the year 1957-58. 
  • It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the year 2003. 
• Time period: The oldest paintings are estimated to be 30,000 years old and are still preserved due to their location inside caves. 
  • The paintings of Bhimbetka date back to the Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Chalcolithic , Early Historic and Medieval periods. 
  • However most of the paintings are from the Mesolithic era. 
• Painting Technique: It uses various colours obtained from natural resources like red ochre, purple, brown, white, yellow and green etc. 
• Themes of the paintings: Everyday life of prehistoric men often depicted in stick-like human figures. 
  • Various animals such as elephants, bison, deer, peacocks and snakes are depicted. 
  • Hunting scenes and battle scenes with men at arms. 
  • Simple geometric designs and symbols.