Meet Arsh Ali, India’s youngest archaeologist, probing ‘Egyptian Buddhism’
At 18, Arsh Ali is dubbed as India’s youngest archeologist.
He has already been a part of various archaeological excavations and explorations and is currently working on the experimental approach to ancient Egyptian cuisine, particularly bread and ancient Egyptian mummification.
Arsh is working to find more evidence for his research on ‘Egyptian Buddhism’ which seeks to discern the Buddhist proselytism movement of the Indian-Mauryan emperor Ashoka in Egypt around the 3rd century BCE, and its profound effect on both the ancient societies.
Armed with no formal education on archaeology but possessing great knowledge on natural sciences and cultures of different countries the young archaeologist is presently studying in class 12th (A levels) with a combination of Life Sciences and Humanities through the NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling).
He won a few scholarships from the state cultural department for his proficiency in art while at school. As he progressed in class, he had already started self-learning the hieroglyphs when he was just 10.
His active interest in archaeology and history was becoming more visible. Arsh came in contact with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), when he was only in eighth standard.
Arsh is working to find more evidence for his research on ‘Egyptian Buddhism’.
Evidence on Egypt
The ASI, after assessing Arsh’s level of knowledge in archaeology through a panel questioning, allowed Arsh at a tender age of 15, to participate in archaeological excavations that were being undertaken at that time all over the country by the ASI. And the rest is history, as they say.
Responding to Al Arabiya English, the young prodigy said: “After I have discovered a lot of evidence for the topic on Egypt, I am being invited by various archaeological institutions and museums in India and Egypt for delivering lectures/presentations on the same. Most recently, I have also been invited to publish my research papers in some of the most prestigious archaeological journals and reference books.”
“I want to gift something to this world, something that might prove itself to be absolutely useful to this world, either in terms of the understanding of the natural world or some sort of this. And I intend to live my whole life dedicated to knowledge,” he said.
Hailing from Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh and born to Faisal Ali and Fatima Ali, Arsh did his schooling till 10th (O levels) from City Montessori School, Lucknow and subsequently passed the Advanced Placement (AP) exams in world history and European History.
Arsh’s passion for art and archaeology started early and today he spends a great amount of time researching ancient history, visiting digs, presenting papers at seminars, and delivering lectures on history and archaeology.
Arsh has won scholarships from the state cultural department for his proficiency in art while at school.
Convinced of his abilities, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), under the Ministry of Culture, the premier organization for the archaeological researches and protection of the cultural heritage of the nation, has been inviting Arsh since 2015 to their programs, seminars, excavations and explorations, a privilege often enjoyed by post-graduate students of archaeology.
Arsh has so far been engaged in seven excavations and explorations since 2015 including the ones at Bijnore, Rakhigarhi, Assam, Sonari, Satdhara, Ranchi and Early Historic site of Purana Qila.
Arsh recently delivered a lecture on “Egyptian Buddhism” as part of the exhibition, India and the World: A History in Nine Stories, at the National Museum in New Delhi.
Arsh came in contact with the Archaeological Survey of India when he was only in eighth standard.
Documentation and research
Arsh’s has several assignments at hand and is meticulously working on Ashokan Buddhist proselytism and its connection with the archaeological and literary sources of India and the Hellenistic world.
He is especially focused on Ptolemaic Egypt; on the experimental approach to the bread-baking techniques of the ancient Egyptians and the experimental approach to ancient Egyptian mummification and on the funerary hieroglyphic inscriptions on the ancient Egyptian coffins and mummies in the various museums all over India.
Arsh recently delivered a lecture on “Egyptian Buddhism”.
Also, he is engaged in the study of the effects of the great Oxygen revolution on the chemical and microbiological composition of the Cambrian stromatolites; comparative skeletal anatomies between reptiles and birds and the evolutionary link between the two on the basis of morphology and fossil record; and the inscriptions discovered in the Brahmaputra river valley in Goalpara district of Assam among others.
Arsh bats for better technology as key tools of investigations and discoveries. He says that aerial photograph has lot of implications in archaeology.
“One of the most important significance of aerial photography in archaeology is that it allows you to have an overview of the whole site and its extent at one glance, whereas ground photography rarely allows you to do so,” he says.
According to him, aerial photography also allows discovery of new sites by means of shadow marks, crop marks, etc. which sometimes goes intractable with some other exploration methods and field methods.
For the teenager who has chosen to straddle different eras and civilizations, digging history deeper is his mission.
Courtesy: english.alarabiya.net
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
