The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation
Class 6 · Social Science · 14 Questions
What is a civilisation?
What was the earliest civilisation of the Indian Subcontinent?
What were its major achievements?
Which of the above characteristics do you think is the most fundamental — that is, a characteristic essential to the development of all others?
For each characteristic in the list above, can you make a list of professions or occupations that might exist in such a society?
Have a debate in class about the last two interpretations. Can you think of any others? Remember that in this case, we do not have any other source of history — no inscription, no text, no traveller's account.
As a class activity, measure the length of your classroom, a school corridor or a playground with the help of any measuring tape. Compare these lengths with the length of the largest reservoir in Dholavira.
Imagine the large number of workers required to build such a network of reservoirs. Who do you think organised their work and gave them precise instructions? How do you think they were paid for their labour? (Hint: there was no money at that time in the way we have today.) Since the reservoirs needed to be cleaned from time to time, was there some local authority to manage their maintenance? What clues do we get from all this about this city's ruler and municipal administration?
Why does the civilisation studied in this chapter have several names? Discuss their significance.
Write a brief report (150 to 200 words) summing up some of the achievements of the Indus-Sarasvatī civilisation.
Let us imagine a Harappan man or woman being transported to an average kitchen in today's India. What are the four or five biggest surprises awaiting them?
What mindset does the system of reservoirs at Dholavira reflect?
In Mohenjo-daro, about 700 wells built with bricks have been counted. They seem to have been regularly maintained and used for several centuries. Discuss the implications.
It is often said that the Harappans had a high civic sense. Discuss the significance of this statement. Do you agree with it? Compare with citizens in a large city of India today.