SINDHU-SARASVATI CIVILIZATION (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – History)

Context: The new NCERT Class 6 Social Science textbook incorporates several new elements, including references to the Harappan civilization as the ‘Sindhu-Sarasvati’ and ‘Indus-Sarasvati’ civilization

Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilization

• About: The Harappan civilization is also known as the 'Indus-Sarasvati' or 'Sindhu-Sarasvati' civilization, including major cities like Rakhigarhi and Ganweriwala.
• Discovery of Civilization: A civilization was discovered in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent in 1920-21 following the excavations at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.
• Geographic Spread: These settlements embrace Baluchistan, the whole of Sindh and Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan, a part of the Ganga Basin, banks of the Ghaggar-Hakra River, and the valley of the Narmada River.
• Contemporary Political Boundaries: In terms of contemporary political boundaries, of these 1400 settlements, nearly 925 are in India and 475 are in Pakistan.
• Distribution Pattern: A close look at the distribution pattern of these settlements discloses that about 80% of the sites are located on a vast plain between the Indus and the Ganga, mainly on the bank of the Sarasvati River.
• River Names: The river, now seasonal, is known as 'Ghaggar' in India and 'Hakra' in Pakistan, referred to as the 'Ghaggar-Hakra River'.
• Decline Factors: Two agreed-upon factors for the Harappan civilization's decline are climate change reducing rainfall and the drying up of the Sarasvati river.
• Abandoned Cities: The drying up of the Sarasvati river led to the abandonment of cities like Kalibangan and Banawali.
• Advanced Civilization: The Indus-Sarasvati civilization is considered to be the most advanced among all its contemporary civilizations, with highly developed agriculture, architecture, trade, and urbanization in addition to advanced pottery and usage of script.