A Note on the National Identity of the Sauvīras

Abstract

The term Sauvīra, also Sindhu-Sauvīra, indicating the name of a district and a people is often met with in historical literature dealing with India’s past. But where was his district located and who actually were its inhabitants – the Sauvīras – still remain a big question mark on the horizon of modern scholarship. Some writers in the past, such as A. Cunningham  (1871: 5-7, 419-20), R.C. Majumdar (1980: 107, 611-12), and A.H. Dani (1982) did attempt to find an answer but they  restricted themselves merely to the first part of the question; the second part was conveniently ignored. The main  objective of the present Note is to supply this deficiency and find an answer to the second part of the question. 

The Note is divided into two parts. Part I contains a summary of the arguments advanced by A. Cunningham and R.C. Majumdar in support of their attempts to find a home for the Sauvīras. Part II deals with the problem of their ethnicity, their original homeland and their role in history – all in brief.