why??

why??

indus valley civilisation is recognized as the oldest civilisation in the world.

older than that of mesopotamia and egypt.

yet they are known better while indus valley civilisation laid hidden up to twentieth century (1920s to be exact}

why?

1-     india was far off while egypt and mesopotamia were almost next door.

2-     there was flow of goods from these areas to europe and it got better known.

3-     the real reason – egypt has the great pyramids: the romans had pantheon; the greeks had acropolis.in contrast indus valley had few big size buildings – virtually none. low level buildings, easily covered and hidden with passage  of time

let us dive a bit deeper. the ‘far off ‘ argument does not wash. the trade between india and mesopotamia was flourishing and these were goods that reached europe through them and things flowed back also.  the real reason is absence of grand buildings which could withstand vagaries of nature and be visible.

but why is it so?

think over it. the pyramids show the disparity – the rulers had big tombs ( that is what a pyramid is), the pantheon was the place where the high and mighty enjoyed sports. so also the greeks. 

and who built these tombs and big buildings? the slaves, the poor and the downtrodden. no tombs for them. no play for them. in rome they were the victims whom high and mighty enjoyed being torn to pieces.

in contrast, the ruins of indus valley show a prosperity in which no distinction can be seen between various buildings. well planned cities with plenty of common baths, with storage places for crops but no palatial buildings. truly a socialist society.

other so called  civilisations had exploitation as their edifice, a high disparity in wealth and standard of living. slavery was their ticket to create wealth and show off for the rulers.

the distinctive features of indus valley civilisation underlines the absence of exploitation, of slavery, of shunning the show offs. and this tradition was fully followed in vedic period. the shastras talk of elaborate designs of altars, the yagna places but all to be destroyed after the yagna. they were not to be monuments for the posterity. they were for the fulfilment of joyous life of the living.

slavery was conspicuous by its absence. none of our scripture have even reference to such occurrence. Living close to the nature has been our fore.

and that, dear sirs and madams, explains the absence of archaeological grand remains of the huge mansions and that is what delayed the discovery of indus valley sites, a process which began late but is even now being continued revealing new places of interest over a large area.