2025-05-20 Tue

Henry Heras was a distinguished Spanish Jesuit Priest , archaeologist, and historian who made significant contributions to the study of History in India . In 1922, he was appointed to teach history at St. Xavier's College in Bombay /Mumbai. He authored a concise work on historical methodology titled The Writing of History, which subsequently became essential reading for his Students .

In 1926, Father Heras established the Indian historical research Institute, an institution dedicated to training historians and Indologists. This institute was later renamed the Heras Institute of Indian History and culture , in recognition of his impactful work.

Father Heras is also notable for his efforts to interpret the inscriptions of the Harappan Civilization. He linked these inscriptions to classical Tamil . On December 14, 1981, India Post honored his legacy by issuing a commemorative #stamp featuring Father Heras along with a Harappan #seal from Mohenjo Daro.

The Harappan Civilization, first discovered in the 1920s through the archaeological work of Daya Ram Sahni and Rakhaldas Banerjee. Sahni excavated Harappa in 1920, and Banerjee excavated Mohenjo-daro in 1921, confirming the existence of this Bronze Age urban culture. The work was supervised and led by Sir John Marshall that continues to present challenges, particularly regarding its script. The Harappan script is a collection of symbols produced by this ancient civilization, and its undeciphered nature poses ongoing questions for linguists, scientists, and archaeologists. Various theories have attempted to connect the script with early Brahmi.

Deciphering the Harappan script faces numerous challenges, including a limited number of inscriptions, the absence of bilingual artifacts, and the short average length of inscriptions, which typically consist of around five signs or symbols. Furthermore, there are no lengthy texts found on walls, tablets, or upright stone slabs.

Recent advancements in computing and Artificial intelligence have begun to provide new avenues for understanding and deciphering this ancient script, bringing renewed hope to scholars engaged in this intricate field of study.