Mahan-jo-Daro: one of the most ancient sites of the east which has aroused world-wide interest

Abstract

Sind has the honour to gi\·e the name to the Hindu community and to the whole Sub· Continent, TIindustan, of which it formed an important part O\'en in RgVedic times. Incidental references about the political and social conditions in Sind, found scattered in the ancient Indian literature, and tho works of Greek and Chinese writers and travellers, make us believe that Sind has had her pa~t-a splendid and glorious past of which one may well be proud -; but there being no history of ancient Sind in the form of a connected narrative our know ledge in this respect was, therefore, very imperfect. Only recently Sindh's wOllderful history has emerged, as it were by magic, out of darkness into light. 'rho chance stroke of the archffiologist's spade at Mahan. jo.Daro has revealed to us the tl'llthful account of its hoary past; and today " a marvellous culture, surpassing in many respects the splendoUl' of Egypt and :l\[('sopotamia", ha~ been unveiled, and has al'ou~ed ,,·orld·wide interest , lIere [or the n.r,t time the a rchreological excavations hare unearthed ant! ],\id 1>al'e before the world the most ancirnt cidl i7.alion, cult1ll'e, wealth, learning and religion of ancient J ndia; not a few centuries old, but 7,000 Ol' at least 5,000 years' old, even on the computation of hostile critics. 'rhere is no other country in the world which possesses such convincing and incontrovertible proof of its ancient glory and general greatness. Hundreds of people come from thousands of miles to visit the place and are 10 t in amazement and wonder. These discoveries mark an epoch in the history of archreological research, and necessitate a complete re.adjustment of previous views on the so called " Aryan" civilization in India. Long cherished beliefs are, indeed, heing shattered, and old theories revolutionizAcl; and we begin to realize that archreo. logical exploration in India is still more or less in its infancy. This class of work has but begun in the Indus Valley region. There are still many promising sites in Sind and the Panjab awaiting the pick and the shovel. There are, no doubt, further surprises in store for us when at length enough money is available for the archreologists to explore these sites. In the meantime we must possess our souls in patience. The discoveries so far made at Mahan-jo.Daro in Sind and Harappa in the Panjab add to our pride in our country. Pride of country is an essential feature of patriotism. l'he two go together, and stimul,\te and stir those who are devoting lives of sacrifice for the good and the uplift of their country. j]}yery thiuking Indian, with any regard for his ancient and glorious past, I hope, will only be too glad to ha..-e a detailed account of the arch::cological finds of ~fahan-j o-Daro which haye revolutionized our ideas regarding the antiquity of the culture of India and its origins and affiliations. A. very detailed official account of Arcbmological excavations of Mahan-jo-Daro carried out by the Government of India bet,,-een the years 1922 and 1927 has already appeared in a lavishly illustrated book edited by Sir John Marshall, Late Director General of Archreology in India, entitled Mohen-joDaro and the Indus civilization. 1'be cost of the book (12 guineas) being, however, prohibitiye, I have endeavoured to supply the want of a cheap guide to the results of archreological explorations, giving in brief form an up to date account of all the important antiquities unearthed at Mahan-;o-Daro, a few of which have been discovered too recently for record in Sir John Marshalls' great book. 'fhe whole account is based not merely on Sir John Marshalls' book and his articles in different magazines and news papers, but also on the Annual Reports of the A rcha-ologic'l.l Survey of India, the lI:I:emoirs of the Archmological Survey of India by Hao Bahadur Rama Pm'sad Chanda, the articles of Mr, R. D. Banerji and Dr. Sunitikumar Chaterji in different issues of the Modern Review, Professor S. V. Venkateswara's article in the Sind Herald, Karachi, the learned article of Mr. H. N. Brailsford in the Manchester Guardian and all other literature about Mahan-jo-Daro that has been published up to this time and come to my notice. 'l'he object of writing this handy volume is to provide a suitable compendium for those who have not read the whole literature about Mahan-joDam, and I hope it will be welcomed by all Indians in geneml and Sindhis in particular.