DEBATE ON THE ORIGIN OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION: UPSC Daily Important Topic | 7 November 2021
DEBATE ON THE ORIGIN OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION:
Topic: Indus Valley Civilization
Theory 1- Aryan Theory
- Representative historians are SR Roy, TR Ramachandran, KV Shastri.
- They say that IVC was developed by Aryan, same Aryan associated with vedic Culture.
- This theory is refuted because of great contrast between IVC and vedic culture.
Theory 2 – Diffusionist Theory
- In a diffusionist argument, the first thing to do is to figure out in which part of the world the change first occured.
- This is identified as the point of origin, from where the change is presented as having diffused or spread to other areas.
- According to E.J.H. Mackey, a migration of people from Sumer (Southern Mesopotamia) may have led to the Harappan civilization; other proponents of the migration theory included D.H. Gordon and S.N. Kramer.
- Mortimer wheeler argued for a migration ideas, not people.
Criticism
There are in fact several striking differences between the Harappan and Mesopotamian civilizations. The Mesopotamians had-
- A completely different script.
- A much greater use of bronze.
- Different settlement layouts, and
- A large-scale Canal system of the kind that seems absent in the Harappan Civilization.