Harappa: Difference between Hindu and Islamic views, understand the story behind it

New Delhi: The Indus Valley Civilization, one of the oldest civilizations, i.e. the Harappan Civilization, is still of great interest to people in many countries of the world. This civilization is a matter of surprise not only for archaeologists but also for the whole world for many reasons. A hundred years ago, on September 20, 1924, the world came to know about the Indus (Harappan) civilization for the first time. John Marshall, the then Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) established by the British Raj, said this in the Illustrated London News. There are different views in two countries, India and Pakistan, regarding the interpretation of this civilization.Shocking information revealed about Indus Valley
John Marshall made an exciting announcement in the Illustrated London News. he/she said that archaeologists rarely get such an opportunity as he/she has had to excavate in the Indus plains. he/she said that until now our knowledge of Indian history extended only up to 300 BC. But the remains found at two astonishing sites in the Indus Valley – Harappa in Punjab and Mohenjo Daro in Sindh – show that there were once prosperous cities there. These cities are probably hundreds of years old. Interestingly, the real age of these ruins was actually revealed through a letter. On 27 September 1924, Professor A.H. Sayce wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper stating that the seals found there were similar to seals found in Sumer, which date back to 2300 BC.

The British did not know anything about it
In the 19th century, the British did not even know that these ruins belonged to a great civilization. The British were extracting bricks from there and using them to build the Multan-Lahore railway line. In fact, the first Harappan seal was found there in 1853 by Alexander Cunningham (founder of the Archaeological Survey of India), but he/she went and showed it in 1875. Earlier this civilization was called Indus-Sumerian but later it was discovered that it was a different civilization of its own. It later came to be known as the Indus Valley Civilization. But now traces of this civilization have been found in other places as well, such as on the banks of the dried-up Ghaggar-Hakra river and on the coast of Gujarat. Therefore, now this civilization is known by the name of the first city discovered – Harappa.

After partition, Harappa and Mohenjodaro became part of Pakistan
At the time of partition of India in 1947, two major sites of this civilization – Harappa and Mohenjodaro, went to Pakistan. Both countries divided the things found from these places among themselves. Until the 1970s, India had only 10% of the Harappan seals and objects. But by 2020, due to the efforts of the government, more than 1400 Harappa-like sites have been discovered all over India. These sites have been found in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and even in western Uttar Pradesh.

Both Pakistan and India have different views
The old name of the Harappan Civilization, Indus Valley Civilization, is no longer appropriate. Since many more sites of this civilization have been discovered in India, the term Indus alone does not fit. Some people in Pakistan feel that this naming is a bit biased because Harappa is in Punjab, not Sindh. But in fact Harappa was the place where the first excavations took place. Some Hindus believe that the Harappan Civilization should be called the Saraswati Civilization. Some refer to it as the Saraswati Civilization, believing that it was located along the Ghaggar-Hakra River, which they believe to be the mythical Saraswati River. They associate the Harappan culture with the Saraswati River mentioned in the Vedas and the Mahabharata.