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Birth Anniversary of Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar
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.