India’s greatest archaeologist wrote his 20th book at the age of 100 — and changed how we understand our own civilization. This memorial lecture at the Indian Museum celebrates the extraordinary legacy of Padma Vibhushan Prof. B.B. Lal, who excavated Harappa in 1946 and spent eight decades linking archaeological evidence to Vedic and Itihasa geography.
Air Vice Marshal Rajesh Lal, the archaeologist’s son, shares intimate details — his mother Kusum’s decades of stratigraphic documentation at every dig site, Prof. Lal’s lifelong motto of “use it or lose it,” and his pioneering work connecting the Saraswati river’s disappearance to Harappan decline. Sanjeev Sanyal adds the maritime dimension: the Rig Vedic people, the Sindhu-Saraswati civilization, and why India being the only country with an ocean named after it is not coincidence but civilizational memory.

About The Speaker:
Air Vice Marshal Rajesh Lal (Retired) was commissioned in the Indian Air Force in 1968 as a fighter pilot. He fought actively in the 1971 war with Pakistan and headed an operation base during the Kargil war. Being a qualified Flying Instructor, Production test pilot, and a graduate of the National Defence College, India. He has authored several books on Indian History.

Yadubir Singh Rawat is the Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India. One of India’s noted archeologists, he has field experience of more than four decades in various fields of archeology and heritage management.

Sanjeev Sanyal is a leading Indian economist, historian, and member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. A Rhodes Scholar and former Global Strategist at Deutsche Bank, he now shapes India’s economic policy and global financial engagement. He has been a Visiting Scholar at Oxford University and an Adjunct Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies. He is an accomplished writer of many critically acclaimed books.