Proto-Sarada Script Sheds Light on Mysterious 6th–10th Century Transition

Between the 6th and 10th centuries AD, northwestern India underwent a major cultural shift from Buddhism to Hinduism, soon followed by Muslim invasions, with little recorded detail about this transformation. A research project is using ancient Proto-Sarada inscriptions to study this historical period, funded by national research foundations from Germany and Switzerland.

From the sixth to the tenth century AD, an important historical transition phase took place in the northwest of India, in what is now Pakistan: a predominantly Buddhist society became a Hindu society; this was immediately followed by the Muslim invasions. Little is known about the social, economic, and cultural history of this period of change.