Before its collision with Eurasia1–5, the Indian Plate moved rapidly, at rates exceeding 140mmyr−1 for a period of 20 million years1,3–7. This motion is 50 to 100% faster than the maximum sustained rate of convergence of themain tectonic plates today8. The cause of such high rates of convergence is unclear and not reproduced by numerical models9,10. Here we show that existing geological data11,...
