The discovery of Indus Civilisation was a significant event in the history of Indian archaeology. As we commemorate 100 years of this discovery, how do you view this journey?
The journey is very different from what one usually encounters. It was 90 years in the making. It is also not a saga around one individual and his work. There are several heroes here—an Italian linguist-turned archaeologist, a brilliant Bengali scholar, British gazetteers and Archaeological Survey men, and above all, John Marshall, the director general of the ASI. These characters quite unexpectedly became heroes in the sense that it was in the course of their normal archaeological diggings that they discovered clues which would eventually change the way the Indian past was visualised. This means that it was an institutional achievement of the ASI.
This civilisation has cities and sites in both India and Pakistan. An appropriate tribute would be to have an exhibition where objects of the Indus Civilisation which were divided after partition are brought together. Partitioning of the collection in the way in which it was done—where some objects like the Mohenjo-daro girdle and a necklace with beads of gold, agate and jasper were divided down the middle—is unethical. They should be viewed as they were originally in both India and Pakistan.
How do you think colonialism shaped our early understanding of this civilisation?
Esta historia es de la edición December 29, 2024 de THE WEEK India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición December 29, 2024 de THE WEEK India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
POSTERS OF PROTEST
Appupen is a cartoonist who has published a few graphic novels, the latest being Dream Machine, about how AI can be a great 1 tool for an! authoritarian regime.
CLASH OF THE CIVILISATION
Even as the discovery of the Indus Valley Civilisation completes a century, some key aspects of this ancient culture remain mysterious, including its script. While the controversy over whether it was disrupted by an Aryan invasion may now be discredited, the debate over Indus ancestry and current links continues
A PROVEN PATHWAY TO PEACE
Low-cost, easy to implement, immediate results, and scientifically verified.
FOOTBALL GIVES THEM A KICK
For the children of Manipur and Mizoram, the great game is a way to a prosperous future
BATTLE FOR TOMORROW
Over the past decade, much has been said about India's potential as a leading global power.
THE TONGUE THAT TURNED
Why Greek survived while Latin and Sanskrit declined
USTAD ZAKIR HUSSAIN 1951-2024: HIS MUSIC WAS THERAPY TO THE WORLD
Flautist and Grammy co-winner Rakesh Chaurasia remembers the maestro
The magic of indigo
I really can't imagine why more of us don't throng Goa each December for the Serendipity Arts Festival alone. The festival, in its ninth year now, has the entire Panjim town celebrating.
NEW YEAR.NEW HOPE
EQUITY MARKETS HAVE TURNED VOLATILE OF LATE. WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE NEW YEAR
Seeking middle ground in Middle East
The collapse of assumptions is like the end of the world-or worldview. We assumed conwith the 20th century. But wars in Russia-Ukraine, Gaza, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Lebanon prove us wrong. Western defence officials now raise the nuclear threat level.
