Harappan, Indus, or Sindhu–Sarasvati Civilization?
The first sites of this civilization were discovered in the valley of the Indus and its tributaries. Hence
it was given the name ‘Indus valley civilization’ or ‘Indus civilization’. Today, the count of Harappan
sites has risen to about 1,022, of which 406 are in Pakistan and 616 in India. Of these, only 97 have
so far been excavated. The area covered by the Harappan culture zone is huge, ranging between
680,000 to 800,000 sq km. Sites have been found in Afghanistan; in the Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan,
and North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan; in Jammu, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and
western Uttar Pradesh in India. The northernmost site is Manda in Jammu district of Jammu and
Kashmir, the southernmost is Malvan in Surat district in southern Gujarat. The western-most site is
Sutkagen-dor on the Makran coast of Pakistan, and the easternmost is Alamgirpur in the Saharanpur
district of Uttar Pradesh. There is an isolated site at Shortughai in Afghanistan.
The vast geographical extent of the civilization should make the objection to the terms ‘Indus’ or
‘Indus valley’ civilization obvious. The terms ‘Indus–Sarasvati’ or ‘Sindhu–Sarasvati’ civilization
are also used by some scholars. This is because a large number of sites are located on the banks of
the Ghaggar-Hakra river, which is identified by some scholars with the ancient Sarasvati mentioned
in the Rig Veda.
The Harappan culture was actually a long and complex cultural process consisting of at least three
phases—the early Harappan, mature Harappan, and late Harappan. The early Harappan phase was
the formative, proto-urban phase of the culture. The mature Harappan phase was the urban phase, the
full-fledged stage of civilization. The late Harappan phase was the post-urban phase, when the cities
declined.