Part 14 - Ancient Sindh and Sindhi People

There has been a lot of information available about Sindh and the great civilization which flourished there. A scholar and a historian Upinder Singh has given many details about the same. Talking about ancient civilization in Sindh, Mohenjodaro would come amongst important sites where excavation was done and numerous evidence of the existence of a progressive civilization have been found and studied by many scholars.

Mohenjo-daro in Sindh is situated around 5 km from River Indus and there are two mounds at the site. The size of the site is around 200 hectares and the population of the lower city is estimated to be around 41,250 people as per Fairservis. The mound situated on the western side is 12 meters above the ground and is known as the Citadel. The structures that are found here have been built on an artificial mud-brick platform of about 400 x 200 meters in size. The nature of the wall appears to be defensive according to some suggestions, though it does not represent a defensive nature. But it is a design of construction which creates an elevated landscape. The Great Bath is situated in the north along with college of priests and granary as well. The Great Bath is an excellent example of advanced civil engineering techniques. The construction of floors and walls of Great Bath was done using bricks and gypsum mortar which are fitted in such a way that they become watertight. The waterproofing technique has also been employed in the construction of Great Bath using a thick layer of bitumen at the sides of the tank and at the bottom of the floor. This is a classic example of waterproofing technique which was known to the people of Mohenjodaro in the ancient times. (Singh 2009:149)

The remains of a large building of the size 69 x 23.4 meters which has many rooms along with a courtyard and three verandas are found on the west of Citadel. This appears to be a place where the chief priest and many other priests might be staying and therefore it is called a college of priests rightfully. To the south of Citadel mound, a large building has been found measuring 27 x 27 meters in size, which is called an assembly hall and is almost square in shape with fine aisles.

The area which is the lower town towards east covers more than eighty hectares and surrounded by a fortification wall and is divided into many streets and alleys running north-south and east-west.

The size of houses found in Mohenjo-daro was different according to the status of the citizens. The main street was sufficiently broad with 9 meters in width whereas the smaller streets were 1.5–3 meters in width. In a nearby large building, many seals and broken fragments of a stone sculpture have been found which are of a seated man who has a shawl placed over his left shoulder. This is similar to the sculpture of the Priest-King. The building where the sculpture was found could have been a temple or where some important leader resided. (Singh 2009:150)

Towards the west many double row houses along with a bathroom on the front side and a couple of small rooms on the back side were found. These were probably made to house the workers or could have been shopping as well. In the lower town many shops and workshops doing the jobs of beads and pottery making, copper and shell working were found. (Singh 2009:151)

Looking at Indus valley civilization of which Harappa and Mohenjo-daro were important sites; according to Piggott and partly supported by Mortimer Wheeler, the Harappa was autocratically ruled by priest-kings from Mohenjo-daro and Harappa which were the twin capitals. Due to a lot of commonalities found between the two places regarding civil work both these places show a high degree of urban planning. Common script along with standardized weights and measures systems at both these places is also noted. The granaries appear to be constructed to maintain a buffer stock of grains which would be utilized during the times of shortages. It is also suggested that there would have been a high level of control by the rulers of these two places. However, some scholars like Walter A. Fairservis, differ in their opinion stating that the evidence of many prominent features associated closely with this culture such as a priest, king, army, court officials etc. is not found. In the opinion of Walter, Mohenjodaro was not an administrative center but a ceremonial one. The absence of large monuments and Supreme Gods does not agree with the concept, that a strong and centralized state was in existence. (Singh 2009:151)

It would be interesting to note that out of the two recent writings, one opines in favor of a Harappan empire. While the other has an opposite view to Walter and Malik, rejecting the theories put forward by them. The archeological evidence along with reference to some early state societies are indicative of a Harappan empire. Another scholar Jim Shaffer has mentioned that large Royal tombs and palaces are absent. The difference in the social structures of the people which were observed in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia are also absent. There is a distribution of artifacts of different kinds and ornaments made of precious metals and stones and the seals throughout the area. This is a clear indication that the people living in villages and cities had equal access to wealth. This does not support the concept of centralized governance. Despite the non-existence of Royal tombs of large size, palaces and temples of the type found in Egypt and Mesopotamia, the fact that a certain type of state structure existed is evident. Instead of denying the existence of state it could be said that a different kind of state existed (Singh 2009:177)

The existence of a state is evident from the presence of the following

• Artifacts standardization
• Communication system
• Outposts for trading
• Common writing system for different languages and dialects
• Homogeneity in culture

Considering the above factors coupled with cultural homogeneity, use of workers for construction of public work etc. it is apparent that in Harappan civilization central control system did exist. (Singh 2009:178)