Aryan" is derived from the Sanskrit and Avestan term arya-, the extended form aryana-, ari- and/or arya- of which the word Iran is a cognate. Historians have generally used the word “Aryan” to denote those peoples who spoke the Indo-European languages, which include English, German, Latin, Greek, Russian, Persian, and Sanskrit. “Aryan” also has a narrower racial meaning. It has quite often been used to designate mankind’s non-Semitic white-skinned race.

There are many theories about where Aryans first came from. A common hypothesis is that Aryans originated in the steppes (plains) of Russia. From there they may have migrated to Europe and down into Mesopotamia. Others believe that the Aryans arose in Europe and migrated eastward. Some theorists, occasionally for racist reasons, claim that Aryans were the founders of the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations and were therefore the world’s first civilized peoples. This theory was promoted during the brutal Nazi regime of Germany to bolster its “Aryan supremacy” idea. The Nazis even claimed that Aryans were originally created by Godlike superhumans from a different world. A similar belief was expressed earlier in history.

However, some recent archeological discoveries in India, Russia and Japan have pushed back the antiquity of the Aryans to at least 6000BC and proved beyond doubt that the ancient Aryans were not nomadic tribes from central Asia but had very advanced urban civilizations. Russian archeologists and linguists also proved that the Aryans have migrated not from the Russian steppes but came to Russia via Armenia and Georgia. (Source: wwwPresident Putin's visit to the ruins of the ancient town of Arkaim, which is situated on the outskirts of the city of Chelyabinsk. Pravda reported (on 16 July 2005) about the starling discovery of ruins of a very advanced civilization of Indo-Aryan origin, which was at least 4000 years old in Arkaim. (source:Death of the Aryan Invasion Theory

If the Aryans did indeed invade India (according to Max Muller's invasion theory) then the evidence in the social system imposed on India by the Aryans were unmistakably designed to create human spiritual bondage. As elsewhere, this bondage was partially accomplished by giving spiritual truths a false twist. The result in India was a feudalistic institution known as the “caste” system.

Nevertheless many indian historians and archeologists dispute claims that aryans migrated to India from central asia. Ruins in places like Dwarka and even submerged ruins off the japanese coast challenge these theories