Many years back while leafing through a brochure of Station HQ Tibri (a military cantonment astride the River Beas and about 8 KMs from Gurdaspur), I came across a mysterious and interesting paragraph stating that there is a connection of the name вЂTibriвЂ™ with the Greek word вЂTiborвЂ™. References of AlexanderвЂ™s invasion in these texts too, are from secondary sources and hearsay. Alexanders invasion is dated 326 BCE, the Mahabharat was written sometime between 400 BCE and 200 CE and the PuranaвЂ™s in written form came into existence hundreds of years after AlexanderвЂ™s invasion. Some Indian literature does mention that the вЂYavanasвЂ™ in Mahabharat and PuranaвЂ™s actually allude to the Greeks. Whatever exists or what we have learnt or read in the sub-continents history books, has mostly been borrowed from Greek/European sources. Indian history has very few records pertaining to AlexanderвЂ™s foray to India. 290 BCE), who served as an ambassador of Seleukos I Nikator to Chandragupta Maurya, and who wrote a history of India titled вЂIndikaвЂ™, which has been used extensively as a source by some of these five ancient writers, including Arrianos and Diodoros Sikeliotes. Another important source is the Greek historian Megasthenes (lived c. Possibly, the contents of these five surviving sources are derived from the accounts of other writers and officials who had written about AlexanderвЂ™s conquests. It should be noted that all these five chronicles rely on earlier writings of which there is no record as such. Of these, the source that is generally considered the most reliable is the Anabasis of Alexander, written by the Greek historian Arrianos of Nikomedia.

Even these are secondary sources, no primary source has been ever recorded. There are five surviving written sources that provide us with most of our information on Alexander the GreatвЂ™s campaigns including the battle of the Jhelum. It was somewhere here, after meeting resistance from his soldiers, that Alexander ended his campaign. It is recorded history that after defeating Porus, Alexander marched on to the next river, Hypasis (Beas), near Gurdaspur. An interesting aspect, though not confirmed by any scientific evidence or authentic records, pertains to the Kalash tribe in Northern Pakistan and the inhabitants of Malana, a cluster of 12 villages in Himachal Pradesh, who claim to be of Greek ancestry!ДЄ lot Greek literature on the battle of Hydapses/Jhelum is available. Enough evidence exists in the subcontinent as well as in Greece about AlexanderвЂ™s march to India. In addition, there also exist many known statues of Buddha robed in Greek fashion. We also know that Gandhara city conquered by Alexander in 327 BC is known for its Greco-Buddhist sites which are an obvious result of AlexanderвЂ™s invasion. The two cities founded by him, Nicaea (Greek for Victory) and Alexandria Bucephalus, to honour his favourite horse, still exist in what is now Pakistan. But what is indisputable is that Alexander did make a foray into India. Whether this conversation between the Macedonian King and Porus took place, cannot really be verified. And since by that time, the Macedonian soldiers were on the verge of mutiny, Alexander was forced to go back home after advancing a little further, upto the Eastern banks of the Hyphasis (Beas) river. We are told that Alexander was so happy with the reply of the vanquished king that he returned Porus his Kingdom.

Porus вЂ“ Treat me as a King would treat another King! The conversation went something like this-ДЄlexander - How would you like to be treated?

The famous conversation between the defeated King Porus and the victorious King Alexander after the battle of Hydaspes (Jhelum) river is known to most school going children and history students.

Alexander vs porus