"Once the Ahar Iron is disposed of, all 14 C dates for the earliest iron levels in India appear to cluster around 1000 BC or little earlier" Whose opinion is this?

"Once the Ahar Iron is disposed of, all 14 C dates for the earliest iron levels in India appear to cluster around 1000 BC or little earlier" Whose opinion is this? Correct Answer Irfan Habib

This view is of Irfan Habib.

• The coming of the iron – age is a long-debated one in the field of historical studies, while some historians argue that the use of iron into India as a result of diffusion from the West, some argue that it developed independently.
• Historians like T. N. Roy argue for an Early and Late Phase of Iron Age, while Dilip K Chakrabarti and A Ghosh do not argue for an Early Phase of Iron Usage and place the chronology at 1300 BC to 700 BC.
• Thus the period from 1000 BC to 100 AD is archaeologically referred for the study of Iron age in India.
• The Iron Age sites in India are associated with the finds of PGW pottery.
• Painted Grey Ware has been found at most sites which have evidenced use of iron in the subcontinent.
• The author argues on the basis on archaeological surveys that were carried out in the Central Ganga Palin and Eastern Vindhyas, that the use of iron was prevalent in the region from the early second millennium BCE, as the region as evidenced numerous sites which functioned as sites of iron smelting and have yielded remains such as arrows, nails, knives and chisels.
• The author is of the view that the ironworking technology in this region is even older than the dates we currently associate with, he further argues that this technology of iron use was not merely a process of diffusion which happened when the later Vedic people moved into this region and was present before their arrival.