Q1.
You may have come across the term ‘Indus Valley civilisation’ and noticed that we have not used it. A look at the map (Fig. 6.3 on page 89) explains why the term ‘Valley’ is obsolete, as we now know that the civilisation extended much beyond the Indus region.
Answer
The term was reasonable in 1924 and is wrong today, and the map shows why in one glance: most of the sites on Fig. 6.3 are not in the Indus valley at all.
| Where the sites are | Examples on Fig. 6.3 | Distance from the Indus valley |
|---|---|---|
| In the Indus valley — the original meaning | Mohenjo-daro, Lakhanjo-daro, Chanhudaro, Harappa (on the Ravi, an Indus tributary) | Inside |
| The Sarasvatī (Ghaggar-Hakra) basin | Rakhigarhi and Ganweriwala (both major cities), Kalibangan, Banawali, Bhirrana, Farmana, Karanpura | A different river system, hundreds of kilometres east |
| Gujarat and the Rann of Kutch | Dholavira, Lothal, Khirsara, Bagasra, Nagwada, Nageshwar | Far to the south-east, on the sea |
| The far north | Shortugai — today in Afghanistan | Beyond the Hindu Kush |
| The north-east | Manda, Rupnagar | Towards the Himalayan foothills |
| The western sea coast | Sutkagen-dor, Balakot | On the Makran coast, far west of the river |
Two separate objections to the word ‘Valley’.
- It is factually too small. The Sarasvatī basin alone holds two of the largest cities — Rakhigarhi and Ganweriwala — plus a very high density of smaller sites. A name that leaves out half the civilisation is not a good name.
- ‘Valley’ is the wrong word even for the Indus. The Indus flows through wide plains here, not a narrow mountain valley. The word paints the wrong picture of the land itself.
Why old names survive anyway: in 1924 only sites near the Indus were known, so ‘Indus Valley’ described everything then discovered. Then came Rakhigarhi, Dholavira, Lothal, Banawali — “such discoveries continue even today!” — and the name was left behind by the evidence. This is normal in history: the name is fixed at the moment of discovery, but the knowledge keeps growing. The honest thing is to change the name, which is why this book says ‘Indus-Sarasvatī’ or ‘Harappan’ instead.
Tip for the exam: if a question uses the phrase ‘Indus Valley civilisation’, you may still answer it — but you gain a mark by adding one line: “this civilisation is better called the Indus-Sarasvatī or Harappan civilisation, since it extended well beyond the Indus region.”