Keynote Address delivered by Professor B. B. Lal (Former Director General, Archaeological Survey of India) For quite some time a series of postulates have been distorting our vision of India's past. Some of these are: 1. The Vedas are no older than 1200 BCE and the Vedic people were nomads. 2. The authors of the Harappan Civilization, ascribable to the 3rd millennium BCE, were a Dravidian-speaking people. This civilization was destroyed by Aryan invaders and thereby became extinct.

President Sarkozy’s impending visit to India (December 4-6) should be seen in the larger perspective of India’s rise and the external environment that has facilitated this. India-France relations have strong foundations built over many decades. Until now, despite good political understanding based on mutual respect, equality, shared attachment to independent positions on international issues and recognition of reciprocal benefits of close engagement in diverse fields, the full potential of the relationship has remained unachieved.

President Obama’s much heralded visit to India produced mixed results. The inordinate coverage given to the visit has exaggerated the positives and obscured some deficient outcomes.