Harappan civilisation

Also called: Indus Valley Civilisation, Indus civilisation, Sindhu-Sarasvati civilisation, Indus-Sarasvati civilisation · Topic: Harappan (Sindhu-Sarasvati) Civilisation · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 6 "The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation"; Class 7, Ch 4 "New Beginnings: Cities and States"; Class 12, Ch 1 "Bricks, Beads and Bones"

Meaning

The Harappan civilisation was a Bronze Age (the period when people made tools from copper and bronze) civilisation with cities, in the north-west of the Indian subcontinent. It is named after Harappa, the first site to be found. It lasted from c. 3500 to 1300 BCE, and its city phase, the Mature phase, was c. 2600–1900 BCE. More than 2,000 sites are known.

It matters because it was India's First Urbanisation, the first time cities grew up in India. It shows planned towns, drains, crafts, trade and writing in India more than 4,000 years ago.

Explanation

Why we call it a "civilisation"

NCERT gives a 7-point checklist. A society is a civilisation only if it has all of these:

1. Government and administration: some people in power who run things.
2. Urbanism (city life): planned towns, ways to store and manage water, and drains.
3. Crafts: people find raw materials and turn them into finished goods.
4. Trade: both inside the region and with distant lands.
5. Writing.
6. Cultural ideas: art, buildings, literature and customs.
7. Productive agriculture: farms grow a surplus (extra food) that can feed cities as well as villages.

The Harappans met these criteria, so their rise is called the First Urbanisation of India.

Its many names

• Harappan: after Harappa, the first site to be dug up.
• Indus Valley Civilisation: an older name. Revised NCERT treats it as obsolete (out of date), because sites are found far outside the Indus basin.
• Indus-Sarasvatī / Sindhu-Sarasvatī: this name shows that sites spread across two river basins, the Indus and the Sarasvatī (Ghaggar-Hakra).
• Why the name changed:
• Archaeologists found more and more sites.
• Most of the 2,000+ sites lie between the Indus and the Sarasvatī basins.
• So the name changed to fit the evidence.

How big it was and how sites were ranked

• Area: Harappan objects have been found in Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Sindh and Pakistani Punjab, and in J&K, Indian Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• Objects found: pottery, baked and unbaked bricks, seals, standard weights, beads, and copper-bronze objects.
• The five major cities: Rakhigarhi, Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Dholavira and Ganweriwala.
• Smaller sites: regional centres, farming villages, ports, and craft or manufacturing centres.
• What this ranking tells us:
• Sites ranged from big cities down to small villages and work-towns.
• This suggests the society had layers of control and different economic roles.
• We learn this from archaeology alone, because the Harappan script has not been read yet.

Dholavira: a closer look

• A UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2021 as "Dholavira: a Harappan City". It is on Khadir island in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat [2].
• People lived there c. 3000–1500 BCE. When it was inscribed, it was ranked the 6th largest of over 1,000 known Harappan sites [2].
• It has a fortified city (a city with protective walls) and a cemetery. It is known for its water management system of reservoirs, its gateways, and its trade with Mesopotamia and the Oman peninsula [2].
• It was found in 1968 and dug over 13 field seasons (1989–2005). This shows how slowly and step by step Harappan sites are uncovered [2].
• Dholavira's dates (c. 3000–1500 BCE) are for this one site only. They are not the dates of the whole civilisation.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: c. 3500–1300 BCE in total. The Mature (city) phase was c. 2600–1900 BCE. Exact dates are approximate.
• Region: north-western subcontinent, from Afghanistan and Baluchistan to Gujarat. Most sites are in the Indus and Sarasvatī (Ghaggar-Hakra) basins.
• Major cities, with where they are today:

City	Location today
Rakhigarhi	Haryana (largest known site)
Mohenjo-daro	Sindh, Pakistan
Harappa	Punjab, Pakistan (first discovered)
Dholavira	Rann of Kutch, Gujarat
Ganweriwala	Cholistan desert, Pakistan

• Other important sites:
• Kalibangan: Rajasthan, on the Ghaggar river.
• Lothal: Gujarat, a port town.
• Chanhudaro: Sindh, a craft and manufacturing town.

• Bhirrana, Banawali and Farmana: Haryana, all in the Sarasvatī basin.

• How we know: almost all our knowledge comes from archaeology. This includes pottery, bricks, seals, standard weights, beads and copper-bronze objects. The writing has not been read, so there are no texts or inscriptions we can use.

• Heritage status: Dholavira became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021 [2].

Don't confuse with

• Second Urbanisation: the cities of the Gangetic plains from c. 600 BCE onward. The Harappan civilisation was the First Urbanisation, in the north-west.
• Harappa vs Rakhigarhi: Harappa (Pakistani Punjab) was the first site discovered and gives the civilisation its name. Rakhigarhi (Haryana) is the largest known site.
• Dholavira vs Lothal: both are in Gujarat. Dholavira (Rann of Kutch) is one of the five major cities and a UNESCO site known for reservoirs. Lothal is known as a port town.
• Sarasvatī river vs the Indus: in this context, the Sarasvatī means the Ghaggar-Hakra river system. Kalibangan, Banawali, Bhirrana and Farmana lie in this basin, not on the Indus.

Prelims Hooks

• NCERT's civilisation checklist has 7 criteria: government, urbanism, crafts, trade, writing, cultural ideas and productive agriculture.
• Five major cities: Rakhigarhi, Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Dholavira and Ganweriwala. Trap: Lothal and Kalibangan are not among them.
• Rakhigarhi (Haryana) = largest Harappan site. Ganweriwala = Cholistan desert, Pakistan.
• Dholavira = UNESCO World Heritage Site (2021), Khadir island, Rann of Kutch. It shows trade with Mesopotamia and Oman [2].
• Lothal = port town (Gujarat). Chanhudaro = craft town in Sindh, with no citadel (a raised, walled area).
• "Indus Valley Civilisation" is an outdated name in revised NCERT. Its rise = First Urbanisation of India.

Mains Points

• The naming debate shows how history follows evidence:
• "Indus Valley" was the name used when most known sites lay along the Indus.
• Later, 2,000+ sites were found, most of them between the Indus and the Sarasvatī (Ghaggar-Hakra).

• So the names "Harappan" and "Sindhu-Sarasvatī" replaced it. The evidence changed the name, not the other way round.

• First and Second Urbanisation: an answer can compare Harappan town planning and drains (c. 2600–1900 BCE) with the Gangetic cities after 600 BCE. This shows continuity and change in India's city life, which is useful for GS-I questions.

• Proof of government and trade without written records:
• The ranking of sites (5 major cities → regional centres → villages, ports and craft towns) points to organised government.
• Dholavira's links with Mesopotamia and Oman give a clear example of the "external trade" criterion [2].
• Both points rest on archaeology, because the script is still not deciphered.

Related concepts

• Civilisation
• First Urbanisation
• Harappa
• Dholavira
• Manda
• Alamgirpur
• Daimabad
• Sutkagen Dor
• Ropar
• Surkotada

Read more

• A civilisation, its names and its extent