Question
Consider the following assertion:
In the Pleistocene period either the Yamuna once flowed into the Indus, or the Sutlej flowed into the Yamuna and one major tributary of either had shifted from the Ganga to the Indus or vice versa.
Which of the following is/are the basis of the above assertion?
1. The Nadi-Sukta of the Rigveda
2. The explorations of the Sutlej and the Yamuna by Robert Bruce Foote
3. The presence of the same species of dolphins in both the Indus and the Ganga river systems
Select the answer using the code given below:
Explanation
The evidence for ancient changes in the Indus-Ganga river systems comes from a combination of biological and geological clues. The Rigvedic references and Robert Bruce Foote’s work, however, do not directly establish these prehistoric river shifts.
Statement 1 — Incorrect: The Nadi-Sukta (Rigveda 10.75) mentions rivers such as the Ganga, Yamuna, Sarasvati and Sutlej, reflecting the geographical setting known during the Vedic period. It does not provide evidence of the much earlier Pleistocene geological changes in river courses.
Statement 2 — Incorrect: Robert Bruce Foote, known as the Father of Indian Prehistory, discovered the first Paleolithic handaxe in India at Pallavaram in 1863. His work focused mainly on Stone Age archaeology, not on tracing geological shifts of the Sutlej and Yamuna.
Statement 3 — Correct: The presence of closely related blind river dolphins in the Indus and Ganga river systems provides important biological evidence that the two basins were once connected. Geological studies suggest that during the Pleistocene, a large river system connected the Indus and Ganga basins. Later tectonic changes and river avulsion separated the drainage systems, with the Yamuna shifting towards the Ganga and the Sutlej towards the Indus.