BharatNotes Why this chapter matters for UPSC: The Harappan Civilisation is one of the most tested topics in UPSC — major sites, features of urban planning (grid pattern, drainage), trade with Mesopotamia, the undeciphered script, crafts, and the debate on decline all appear in both Prelims and Mains (GS1: Indian Culture). The 2019 Rakhigarhi DNA study also makes it a contemporary-relevance topic.
Contemporary hook: The Rakhigarhi excavation (Haryana) — largest known Harappan site — is being excavated under ASI in collaboration with Korean researchers. DNA analysis (2019) of skeletal remains found no genetic evidence of Central Asian steppe pastoralists, reigniting debate about the Aryan Migration Theory. This is the kind of live archaeological controversy that UPSC Mains GS1 can ask about.
PART 1 — Quick Reference Tables
Harappan Civilisation — Key Facts
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Also called | Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC); Indus-Saraswati Civilisation |
| Period | ~3300–1300 BCE (broadly); Mature phase: 2600–1900 BCE |
| Extent | ~1.3 million sq km — larger than ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia combined |
| Discovery | Harappa excavated by John Marshall & Daya Ram Sahni (1921); Mohenjodaro by R.D. Banerji (1922) |
| Script | Indus/Harappan script — ~400+ signs; not yet deciphered |
| Language | Unknown |
| Religion | Evidence of nature worship (Pashupati-like seal), female figurines (Mother Goddess?), fire altars (Kalibangan) |
| Decline | ~1900 BCE; debated — climate change, flooding, reduced rainfall, tectonic shifts |
Major Harappan Sites
| Site | Location | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Mohenjodaro | Sindh, Pakistan | "Mound of the Dead"; largest Mature phase city; Great Bath, Granary, College |
| Harappa | Punjab, Pakistan | Gave civilisation its name; granaries, workers' quarters, cemeteries |
| Dholavira | Kutch, Gujarat | Only site with stone architecture; unique 10-sign inscription; three-part city; UNESCO World Heritage Site (2021) — India's 40th; first IVC site in India to get UNESCO tag |
| Lothal | Saurashtra, Gujarat | Dockyard (earliest known?); bead factory; fire altars |
| Kalibangan | Rajasthan | Fire altars; earliest ploughed field; evidence of earthquake |
| Rakhigarhi | Hisar, Haryana | Largest Harappan site (by area); ongoing excavation; 2019 DNA study |
| Surkotada | Kutch, Gujarat | Horse bones (debated); first evidence of horse in Harappan context |
| Banawali | Haryana | Lapis lazuli; barley cultivation |
| Chanhu-daro | Sindh, Pakistan | Bead-making factory; inkpot and stylus found |
Urban Features — Comparative
| Feature | Detail | UPSC Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Grid street plan | Streets at right angles; main roads ~10m wide | Town planning, urban governance |
| Drainage system | Covered brick drains along every street; manholes for cleaning | Advanced civic infrastructure |
| Two-part city | Citadel (west, elevated) + Lower Town (east, larger) | Social hierarchy, governance |
| Standardised bricks | Ratio 1:2:4 (height:width:length) across all sites | Centralised authority or trade networks |
| Great Bath (Mohenjodaro) | 12m × 7m × 2.4m deep; watertight bitumen lining; steps; colonnaded corridor | Ritual purification; civic architecture |
| Granaries | Large storage structures at Mohenjodaro, Harappa | Centralised food storage; surplus economy |
| No temples/palaces | No clear structures identified as temples or royal palaces | Debate on political/religious governance |
PART 2 — Detailed Notes
Discovery and Naming
Harappan Civilisation / Indus Valley Civilisation: Named after the site of Harappa (first excavated). Also called "Indus-Saraswati Civilisation" by some scholars because many sites are on the banks of the now-dry Saraswati (Ghaggar-Hakra) river system.
The civilisation was unknown to modern scholars until 1921 — it was accidentally discovered when British engineers building the Lahore-Multan railway (1850s) found bricks from Harappa; systematic excavation came later. Before this discovery, the oldest known civilisations in India were Vedic (~1500 BCE). The Harappan discovery pushed back India's urban history by over a thousand years.
Key excavators:
- John Marshall (Director-General of ASI, 1902–1928): oversaw systematic excavations; first to announce the discovery to the world (1924)
- Daya Ram Sahni: excavated Harappa (1921)
- R.D. Banerji: excavated Mohenjodaro (1922)
- Ernest Mackay: further excavations at Mohenjodaro
- S.R. Rao: excavated Lothal (1955–62)
- R.S. Bisht: excavated Dholavira
Urban Planning — A Revolutionary Achievement
The Harappan cities represent the world's first planned urban settlements — pre-dating any comparable urban planning anywhere by centuries.
Grid pattern streets: Streets ran north-south and east-west at right angles, dividing the city into rectangular blocks (insulae) — remarkably similar to modern grid cities. This required centralized planning before construction began.
Two-tier city structure:
- Citadel (Acropolis): Higher, western section; built on a raised mud-brick platform; contained public buildings (Great Bath, granaries, assembly halls)
- Lower Town: Larger, eastern section; residential and commercial areas
Dholavira exception: Three-part city — Citadel + Middle Town + Lower Town; unique among Harappan sites. Also used stone rather than mud brick.
The Great Bath (Mohenjodaro): A large public bathing tank (12m × 7m × 2.4m deep) with bitumen-sealed brick construction to prevent leakage. Surrounded by a verandah with rooms. Scholars debate its use — ritual bathing (like Hindu temples' sacred tanks?) or public bathing for hygiene. Either way, it demonstrates sophisticated civic infrastructure.
Drainage system:
- Every house had a bathroom (paved brick floor, drain outlet through wall)
- Street drains were covered with brick slabs (to prevent contamination and odour)
- Larger drains connected to main sewers
- Manholes at regular intervals allowed cleaning
- This is arguably more sophisticated than most European cities until the 19th century CE
Economy and Trade
Agriculture: Grew wheat, barley, peas, lentils, sesame, cotton. The Indus plain is very fertile — floods leave behind rich silt. Rabi (winter) crop agriculture is evidenced; irrigation system debated.
Crafts and industry: Harappan crafts were exceptional:
- Pottery: Wheel-thrown; red with black painted designs; very standardised
- Metal-work: Copper and bronze tools and weapons; the "Dancing Girl" bronze statue (Mohenjodaro) — a masterpiece
- Bead-making: Carnelian, lapis lazuli, gold, terracotta beads; Chanhu-daro was a bead factory
- Cotton textiles: Cotton cultivation; fabric impressions found; word "cotton" may derive from Harappan language through intermediaries
- Weights and measures: Standardised stone cuboid weights in binary system (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32…); used for trade regulation
Trade:
- Internal: Standardised weights and bricks suggest regulated trade across a large area
- External: Mesopotamian texts (Sumerian records, ~2000 BCE) mention trade with "Meluhha" — widely accepted as referring to the Harappan region. Traded cotton, timber, ivory, lapis lazuli, carnelian beads, gold
- Lothal dockyard: A trapezoidal brick basin (~220m × 37m × 4m deep) connected to a river via inlet/outlet channels. A 2024 study confirmed this as an ancient dockyard — the earliest known tidal dockyard in the world. Earlier scholarly debate about whether it was a reservoir now largely resolved in favour of the dockyard interpretation.
Script and Language
The undeciphered Indus script: ~400 signs have been identified, written right to left (and sometimes in boustrophedon — alternating directions). Found on seals, pottery, copper tablets. No bilingual inscription (like the Rosetta Stone for Egyptian hieroglyphs) has been found — this is the main reason it remains undeciphered.
UPSC — National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC), Lothal: The Government of India is developing a ₹3,500 crore world-class maritime heritage museum and complex at Lothal (Gujarat) — to be the world's largest maritime museum. It will showcase India's 4,500-year-old maritime history from the Harappan period to the present. This is a direct GS3 (infrastructure/tourism) and GS1 (culture/heritage) link from this chapter.
UPSC: The Indus script is specifically tested as an example of the limitations of historical sources. Unlike Ashokan edicts (Brahmi deciphered in 1837 by James Prinsep), the Indus script gives us no direct access to Harappan language, religion, or governance. This is why we know so much about their material culture but almost nothing about their political system, religion (names of gods, texts), or social structure compared to what we know about Mesopotamia.
Religion
Material evidence for Harappan religion is suggestive but uncertain:
- Pashupati Seal (Mohenjodaro): Horned figure seated in yogic posture, surrounded by animals (elephant, tiger, rhinoceros, buffalo, deer). Often interpreted as a proto-Shiva. But this interpretation is disputed.
- Female figurines (terracotta): Numerous; often interpreted as Mother Goddess worship — but could also be toys or decorative items
- Fire altars (Kalibangan, Lothal): Brick-lined pits with ash and animal bones; suggest fire ritual — perhaps proto-Vedic fire sacrifices?
- Trees and animals on seals: Pipal tree (sacred in Hinduism and Buddhism to this day) appears on seals; unicorn is the most common seal animal
- Burials: Bodies buried with grave goods (pottery, ornaments); no large burial mounds like later cultures; Harappa's cemetery R37 is well-documented
What we don't know: We cannot read the Harappan script, so all religious interpretation is based on material evidence alone — subject to debate. We don't know the names of their gods, their mythology, their prayers, or their rituals in any direct sense. This is a key limitation that historians emphasise.
Decline — What Happened?
The decline debate (c. 1900 BCE):
Around 1900 BCE, the mature Harappan cities declined — streets became narrower, drainage deteriorated, standardised pottery disappeared, long-distance trade shrank, writing disappeared, and eventually the large cities were abandoned.
Theories:
- Climate change / drought: Geological evidence suggests reduced monsoon rainfall after ~2000 BCE; the Saraswati/Ghaggar-Hakra river dried up, removing a major agricultural resource
- Flooding: Mohenjodaro shows signs of repeated flooding; tectonic activity may have shifted river courses
- Aryan invasion (older theory): Mortimer Wheeler proposed in the 1940s that Aryan invaders destroyed the cities (citing skeletons at Mohenjodaro). This theory is now largely rejected — the "massacre" skeletons date to different periods; no evidence of mass violence consistent with invasion
- Deurbanisation: The civilisation didn't "end" suddenly — it transformed into smaller, rural Late Harappan cultures (Cemetery H, Jhukar) that continued for centuries. The civilisation fragmented rather than collapsed catastrophically
- 2019 Rakhigarhi DNA study: Found no evidence of steppe ancestry in Harappan skeletal remains — supporting the idea that the Aryan Migration was after the Harappan period, not a cause of its decline, and that Harappan people were indigenous to South Asia
Most current scholarship favours a combination of climate change + riverine changes + internal social transformation.
PART 3 — Frameworks & Analysis
Harappan Civilisation vs Other Bronze Age Civilisations
| Feature | Harappan | Mesopotamia | Egypt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Period | 2600–1900 BCE | 3500–500 BCE | 3100–30 BCE |
| Area | ~1.3 million sq km (largest) | ~0.5 million sq km | ~1 million sq km |
| Writing | Undeciphered | Cuneiform (deciphered) | Hieroglyphics (deciphered) |
| Monumental architecture | Great Bath, granaries | Ziggurats, palaces | Pyramids, temples |
| Trade with others | Yes (Meluhha = Harappan?) | Yes (with Harappan) | Yes (Mediterranean) |
| Decline | ~1900 BCE | Continued longer | Continued longer |
The Continuity Debate
Did Harappan culture die out or transform into later Indian culture?
Evidence for continuity:
- Fire altars at Harappan sites → Vedic fire rituals (yajnas)
- Pipal tree worship on seals → sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism today
- Swastika symbol on Harappan seals → used in Hindu rituals today
- Bead-making, pottery traditions → continue in later South Asian cultures
- Female figurines → similar to later terracotta goddess traditions
Evidence for discontinuity:
- Script disappears completely — no evolution into later scripts
- Urban tradition ends; no comparable cities in India for ~1300 years after 1900 BCE (until the second urbanisation of the Mahajanapada period, ~600 BCE)
- Iron Age replaces Bronze Age; very different material culture
The honest answer: partial continuity at the level of folk culture, arts, and perhaps religious symbolism, but rupture in terms of urbanism, writing, and standardised long-distance trade.
[Additional] 4a. Dholavira UNESCO WHS 2021 — Criteria, Water System, and the 10-Sign Signboard
The chapter covers Dholavira as a Harappan site and notes its UNESCO inscription (2021) and India's 40th WHS status, but provides no detail on the UNESCO criteria, the extraordinary water conservation system (the most sophisticated in the ancient world at that date), or the famous 10-sign Harappan signboard found at the citadel gate — one of the longest Indus Valley inscriptions ever found and a direct UPSC Prelims target.
Key Terms — Dholavira:
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Dholavira WHS | Official UNESCO name: "Dholavira: a Harappan City"; inscribed July 27, 2021 at the 44th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (Fuzhou, China, held online); UNESCO WHL Number: 1645; India's 40th UNESCO World Heritage Site |
| UNESCO Criteria (iii) and (iv) | (iii) Dholavira bears outstanding testimony to the Harappan civilisation — exceptional achievements in urban planning, water management, construction, art, trade; (iv) Outstanding example of a pre-planned ancient city with multi-layered fortifications, stone construction (unique among Harappan sites), and sophisticated water reservoir system |
| Three-part city plan | Unique to Dholavira among all Harappan sites: Citadel (highest, most fortified) + Middle Town (artisans, traders) + Lower Town (general population) — most other Harappan cities had two-part plans |
| Water conservation system | Dholavira had 16 large reservoirs plus check dams and channels carved from rock — entirely stone-built; located in the arid Rann of Kutch with no perennial river, the system harvested seasonal flash floods from the Mansar and Manhar streams; considered the most sophisticated ancient water harvesting system in the world for its period |
| 10-sign Dholavira signboard | Ten large Harappan script signs made of white gypsum inlaid on a wooden board (~3 metres long; each sign ~37 cm high); found by ASI near the north gate of the citadel (1991 excavation by Prof. R.S. Bisht); likely a public signboard — one of the longest Indus Valley inscriptions and possibly the world's oldest public notice board; script still undeciphered |
| R.S. Bisht | Senior ASI archaeologist who led systematic excavations at Dholavira from 1990 to 2005; credited with revealing the full plan of the city including the three-part layout, water system, and the signboard |
[Additional] Dholavira — UNESCO Criteria, Water Heritage, and the Signboard (GS1 — Art & Culture / Ancient History):
Inscription facts:
- Name: "Dholavira: a Harappan City"
- Date: July 27, 2021 (44th UNESCO WHC session)
- WHL Number: 1645
- India's count: India's 40th UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Location: Khadir island (Bet Khadir), Rann of Kutch, Gujarat; arid/semi-arid zone
- Period: ~3000 BCE to ~1500 BCE (occupied over 1,500 years — Early to Late Harappan)
- Scale: ~100 hectares excavated; 6th largest of 1,000+ known Harappan sites
What makes Dholavira unique:
| Feature | Dholavira | Other Harappan Sites |
|---|---|---|
| City plan | Three parts: Citadel + Middle Town + Lower Town | Two parts (Citadel + Lower Town) at Mohenjo-daro, Harappa |
| Primary building material | Stone (sandstone + limestone) | Fired/mud brick |
| Water system | 16 reservoirs + rock-cut channels; stone-built | Limited water features |
| Location | Arid zone; no perennial river | Most on river banks |
| UNESCO criteria | (iii) + (iv) | — |
The water conservation system — engineering detail:
- Located in the arid Rann of Kutch with no perennial river, Dholavira faced extreme water scarcity
- Harappans engineered a complete water harvesting network: 16 large reservoirs (the largest = ~73m × 29m × 10m deep), multiple check dams, inlet channels, and rock-cut water conduits
- The system diverted seasonal flash floods from two streams (Mansar and Manhar) into the reservoir network
- Three reservoirs have been fully excavated; the total system spans much of the city's perimeter
- UNESCO Committee specifically cited this as an "outstanding" feature under Criterion (iv)
- Considered the most sophisticated ancient water management system in the world at its date (~2500 BCE)
The 10-sign signboard:
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Discovery | 1991 excavation by ASI; lead excavator Prof. R.S. Bisht |
| Location | Near the north gate of the Citadel — the main public entrance to the city |
| Physical form | 10 large Harappan script signs; made of white gypsum inlaid in a large wooden board |
| Dimensions | Board: ~3 metres long; each sign: ~37 cm (15 inches) high |
| Repetition | One sign appears 4 times |
| Current state | Wood has decayed; gypsum inlays survive in original arrangement |
| Significance | One of the longest known Indus Valley inscriptions; large sign size + public placement at citadel gate = likely a public signboard or billboard; possibly the world's oldest public notice board |
| Script status | Undeciphered — like all Indus script |
| Scholar view | Asko Parpola (Finland) cites the signboard as evidence that the Indus script represents full literacy (public communication), not merely pictographic record-keeping |
UPSC synthesis: Dholavira = GS1 Art & Culture + Ancient History. Key exam facts: "Dholavira: a Harappan City"; inscribed July 27 2021; WHL No. 1645; India's 40th UNESCO WHS; UNESCO criteria (iii) + (iv); Gujarat, Rann of Kutch; three-part city (Citadel + Middle Town + Lower Town = unique); stone construction (unique); 16 reservoirs = world's most sophisticated ancient water harvesting; 10-sign signboard = white gypsum, ~3m board, ~37cm each sign, north citadel gate, found 1991 by R.S. Bisht; script undeciphered; Dholavira ≠ Mohenjo-daro (Great Bath site); R.S. Bisht = Dholavira excavator (S.R. Rao = Lothal). Prelims trap: Dholavira is India's 40th WHS (2021), NOT 44th; Criteria = (iii) AND (iv) — not (i) or (ii); the signboard is at Dholavira (not Mohenjo-daro or Harappa); the Indus script at Dholavira = still undeciphered (the large signs do NOT mean it has been read).
[Additional] 4b. National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC), Lothal — World's Largest Maritime Museum
The chapter mentions that the Government is developing a "₹3,500 crore world-class maritime heritage museum at Lothal" but provides no detail on the ministry, scheme, scope, international collaborations, or the most recent construction timeline. By 2026, the project has been revised to ₹4,500 crore, Phase 1A is >60% complete with a July 2026 target, and the project includes the world's tallest planned lighthouse museum — all absent from the chapter.
Key Terms — NMHC Lothal:
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| NMHC | National Maritime Heritage Complex — a ₹4,500 crore world-class maritime heritage and tourism complex being built at Lothal, Gujarat, by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways under the Sagarmala Programme |
| Sagarmala Programme | Government of India's flagship port-led development initiative; NMHC is one of its key heritage/tourism components |
| Lothal dockyard | The ancient trapezoidal brick basin (~217m × 26m) at Lothal identified as the world's earliest known tidal dockyard (~2300 BCE); connected to an ancient course of the Sabarmati River; on UNESCO's Tentative List since April 2014 (reference 5918) |
| Phase 1A | First construction phase of NMHC; funded at Rs 1,238.05 crore; >60% complete as of October 2024; target completion: July 2026 |
| Lighthouse Museum | Planned as part of NMHC Phase 1B; designed to be the world's tallest lighthouse museum |
[Additional] NMHC Lothal — Scale, Scope, and Timeline (GS1 — Heritage / GS3 — Infrastructure / Tourism):
Project overview:
| Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ministry | Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) |
| Programme | Sagarmala Programme |
| Location | Lothal, Bhal region, Gujarat (~80 km from Ahmedabad) |
| Area | ~400 acres |
| Cabinet approval | October 2024 |
| Total revised cost | Rs 4,500 crore (originally cited as Rs 3,500 crore) |
| Phase 1A cost | Rs 1,238.05 crore (EPC mode) |
| Phase 1A progress | >60% complete (October 2024) |
| Phase 1A target | July 2026 |
| Employment expected | ~22,000 jobs (15,000 direct + 7,000 indirect) |
Funding structure for Phase 1A:
- Main EPC contract funding
- Major Ports contribution: Rs 209 crore
- Ministry of Defence / Indian Navy: Rs 178.9 crore
- Ministry of Culture: Rs 15 crore
- DGLL (Directorate General of Lighthouses): Rs 266.11 crore (for Lighthouse Museum component)
What NMHC will contain:
| Phase | Components |
|---|---|
| Phase 1A (July 2026) | 6 museum galleries; recreation of ancient Lothal township; open aquatic gallery; jetty walkway; INS Nishank ship exhibit; Sea Harrier aircraft; UH3 helicopter display |
| Phase 1B | 8 additional galleries; world's tallest Lighthouse Museum; 50-dome 5D theatre; Bageecha complex |
| Phase 2 (PPP mode) | States Pavilion; Lothal City (reconstructed); Maritime Institute; 4 Theme Parks (Maritime & Naval, Climate Change, Monuments, Adventure); eco resorts |
International collaborations (MoUs signed): India has signed 10 MoUs with Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, South Korea, UAE, Portugal, Vietnam, Oman, Israel, and Thailand for the NMHC; 4 more (Italy, France, Myanmar, Cambodia) in pipeline.
UNESCO Tentative List status:
- Lothal dockyard nominated to UNESCO Tentative List: April 2014 (reference 5918)
- Proposed as the only port-town of the Indus Valley Civilisation with the world's earliest tidal dockyard
- NMHC project ≠ UNESCO designation — the Complex is a national infrastructure project; UNESCO inscription process is separate
Why Lothal's dockyard matters (the 4,300-year maritime thread): The Harappan dockyard at Lothal (~2300 BCE) → NMHC (2026) = a 4,300-year heritage of Indian maritime activity. The dockyard exported cotton, ivory, carnelian beads, and copper to Mesopotamia via the Persian Gulf; the NMHC will tell this story as India's soft power projection of its ancient maritime civilisation.
UPSC synthesis: NMHC Lothal = GS1 heritage + GS3 infrastructure + soft power. Key exam facts: Ministry = Ports, Shipping and Waterways (NOT Culture); Sagarmala Programme; location = Lothal Gujarat; ~400 acres; revised cost = Rs 4,500 crore; Phase 1A = Rs 1,238.05 crore, >60% complete, July 2026 target; 6 galleries Phase 1A + 8 Phase 1B; Lighthouse Museum = world's tallest planned; 10 MoUs signed; ~22,000 jobs; Lothal on UNESCO Tentative List since April 2014 (not yet inscribed); NMHC is Sagarmala (not UNESCO project). Prelims trap: NMHC ministry = Ports, Shipping & Waterways (NOT Ministry of Culture or Tourism); Lothal is on UNESCO Tentative List (not yet a WHS); original estimate Rs 3,500 crore but revised to Rs 4,500 crore; Phase 1A target = July 2026 (not 2025).
Exam Strategy
Prelims traps:
- Largest Harappan site: Rakhigarhi (Haryana) — not Mohenjodaro; Rakhigarhi overtook Mohenjodaro in recent estimates
- Dockyard: Lothal (Gujarat) — not Mohenjodaro
- Great Bath: Mohenjodaro (Pakistan) — not Harappa
- Fire altars: Kalibangan (Rajasthan) and Lothal — not Mohenjodaro
- Indus script: Written right to left (NOT left to right like most modern scripts)
- Discovery: Harappa = Daya Ram Sahni (1921); Mohenjodaro = R.D. Banerji (1922) — often confused
- Announced to world: John Marshall (1924) — he was the DG of ASI who published the findings
- Rakhigarhi is in Haryana — not Rajasthan or Gujarat
Mains frameworks:
- Urban planning question: Grid streets + drainage + two-tier city + standardised bricks → inference about centralised authority
- Decline question: Present all theories → acknowledge climate change as most evidence-backed → note the 2019 DNA study
- Trade question: Lothal dockyard + weights + Mesopotamian "Meluhha" references + specific goods traded
Practice Questions
Prelims:
The Great Bath of the Indus Valley Civilisation was discovered at:
(a) Harappa
(b) Lothal
(c) Mohenjodaro
(d) KalibanganWhich of the following is the largest known site of the Harappan Civilisation?
(a) Mohenjodaro
(b) Harappa
(c) Rakhigarhi
(d) DholaviraThe Harappan site of Lothal is known for:
(a) Great Bath
(b) A dockyard structure
(c) Fire altars
(d) Stone architectureThe Indus Valley script has not been deciphered because:
(a) The script is too ancient
(b) No bilingual inscription has been found
(c) The script uses unknown materials
(d) The script was deliberately destroyed
Mains:
Discuss the features of town planning in the Harappan Civilisation. What do they tell us about the social and political organisation of its people? (GS1, 10 marks)
Examine the various theories about the decline of the Harappan Civilisation. Which theory has the most archaeological support? (GS1, 10 marks)
