Sindhu Ghati Sabhyatha and the Lessons!

 “Right questions lead to Right Answers"

In my childhood I was taught about “Indus Valley Civilisation”, about its main cities; Mohanjedaro and Harappa, its advancements and glory. It was taught for many years before me and will probably be taught after me. 

During a recent study of the civilization as a part of my initiative, a series of questions came up in my mind. What did I learn? How much of what I learned did I put into practice? Am I proud of the fact that I belong to one of the oldest civilizations of the planet Earth and that it existed on our motherland?

We know that civilizations in the past settled and prospered around rivers and I asked myself “Will my heart be filled with more pride if I call the civilization “Sindhu Ghati Sabhyatha” instead of “Indus Valley Civilisation” because the word “Indus” is a word foreign to us?. It was interesting to trace how “Sindhu” became “Hindu” then “Indos”,“Indus” which eventually led to “BharathaVarsh” having other names as “Hindustan” and  “India”

It was taught to us that the civilization existed approximately between 5000 BCE and 1700 BCE and was at its peak between 2500 BCE and 2000 BCE. The people who lived at that time excelled in arts, civil engineering, revenue, trade, pottery, sculpture and many other facets. The prosperous civilization came to an end for reasons which can’t be pin pointed. Some say it was due to Aryans who came in great numbers sweeping aside everything that came in front of them, others say it was due to repeated floods while some others attribute it to drying up of River Saraswathi.

Some more questions cropped up in my mind.

“Weren’t the leaders or rulers during the period of civilization take into account that their prosperity will lead to external forces or people being attracted by it, come in mostly by force and take away what they built? Did they think of protecting their land and people and build adequate measures? Did it have any bearing upon the events to follow in the times to come? Is it true even today?”

“If there were repeated floods why were not they managed on the basis of the engineering knowledge possessed by people of that era? Why couldn’t people be shifted to safe places and the civilization rebuilt? Does it have any bearing upon the recent floods in our major cities, inundation, chaos and disturbance to civic life? Are there any lessons to be learnt?”

“If it was due to drying up of the river Saraswathi, couldn’t they foresee it? Did it happen gradually or all of a sudden? Is there a lesson for us? Do we think of the rivers around us drying up and the consequences?”

Something inside me tells “It is just the beginning. Keep asking questions, find answers and spread awareness”

It also tells me “Open the minds of our children and youth, make them self learners and fill a quest (jignasa, thrishna) in them to seek”.