Legend of ‘Alexander the Great’ continues; Indian, Greek scholars to trace common threads in Himachal’s Malana

Vibha Sharma

New Delhi, December 19

Indian and Greek scholars will be collaborating to trace common threads between the two countries through detailed research in India, especially in Malana—a cluster of villages in Himachal Pradesh—wheremen from the Army of ‘Alexander the Great’ arebelieved to have settled after war with Porus in 326 BC.

This was among the issues discussed at the first international conference of ‘Greek World and India’ in the JNU last week.

However, this will not be the first time Malana village has evoked interest among researchers.

Around 2009, a Swedish University held talks with the Institute of Tribal Studies in the Himachal Pradesh University for collaborating research to understand people of Malana who claim to be direct descendants of Alexander’s soldiers, trace their genetics and origins of their dialect.

Experts say that the people of Malana have facial and physical features resembling Romans, making them a perfect case for such studies.

Folklore suggeststhat while Alexander returned home, some of his soldiers chose to settle down as they were too tired to return.Over the years, the lore that theytook shelter in this isolated village in 326 BC became prevalentin the region. Though there is no real scientific backing to the hypothesis, some reports suggest discovery of artefacts from the period in the area.