In a major development, the Haryana Sarasvati Heritage Development Board (HSHDB) has decided to rename the Indus Valley civilisation as the Sarasvati river civilisation. The board believes that it would be the right thing to do since the river is no more a myth and its existence has been proved. “Considering the state of knowledge regarding the Sarasvati river in presentations by international and national experts, it was felt by experts that the Sarasvati river is no more a myth, its existence is a reality. Further, the name of the Indus Valley civilisation in our country be rechristened as Sarasvati river civilisation,” said the board.
Speaking on the matter, Sumita Misra, Principal Secretary, Archives, Archaeology and Museums Department of Haryana said that she totally agrees with the idea and the renaming should be done as early as possible. “A large number of Harappan sites have been found in Haryana over the years. The nomenclature of the Indus Valley civilisation should now be changed to the Saraswati-Indus civilisation,” she said.
Prashant Bhardwaj, Deputy Chairman of the HSHDB, said, “We passed a resolution on the concluding day of the conference held during the Sarasvati Mahotsav to rename the Indus civilisation as the Sarasvati civilisation. There are 1097 sites in India associated with the Indus Valley civilisation, while in Pakistan there are only 70 to 80 sites.”
You may also want to watch:
“No one should call Sarasvati a myth since it has already been proven that the river was present. No one should also use the word mythology in association with the river. By using this term, we are negating out own culture and heritage. We will raise an objection if anyone uses this word,” he added. The experts have also demanded a fresh survey of Saraswati basin from the Himalayas to Rann of Kutch should be done by the Archaeological Survey of India and related organisations.
All these points were kept in the two-day international conference on the Saraswati river which was held at the Kurukshetra University. The renaming of Indus Valley civilisation id one of the few recommendations that the HSHDB will send to the government. The HSHDB is currently being chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar himself.