Discuss Town planning of the Indus civilization.
Ans. Town Planning of the Indus Civilization: The fascinating remains of the Indus civilization
belong to the late Neolithic (New Stone Age) and the Chalcolithic (Copper) Age. Iron was
not yet known. It is called pre-historic civilization because there is no written historical or
literary records of the period. We have to depend upon the information, we can gather from
thei articles used by the Indus people in order to form our idea about the civilization.The
excavation at Mohenjodaro have revealed seven different layers. Below the seventh there
are earlier layers under subsoil water, which if discovered may push back the antiquity of
the civilization still further.
The Indus civilization flourished around cities.The ruins of the cities so far unearthed show
remarkable town planning and excellent system of drainage and sanitation. The city was
the heart of the civilization. The life in the Indus cities gives the impression of “a democratic
bourgeois economy” like that of ancient Crete. Both at Harappa and Mohenjodaro and
also at Kalibangan, the city was divided into two main parts. The higher and upper portion
of the city was protected by a construction which looks like a fort. The ruling class of the
towns perhaps lived in the protected area. The other part of the towns were lower in height
than the former and common men lived in this area. The lower area of the towns generally
spread over one square mile. The main streets ran from north to south and east to west
intersecting one another at right angles. The streets were broad varying from 9 feet to 34
feet. They ran straight to a mile. They were suitable for wheeled traffic. Lanes were joined
with the streets. Each lane had a public well. Street lamps were provided ‘ for welfare of
public.
The nature of the buildings at Harappa and Mohenjodaro shows that the town dwellers
were divided into various social classes. The rich and the ruling class lived in the multi-
roomed spacious houses and the poorer section lived in small tenements. The public building
and big houses were situated on the streets. The modest houses were situated on the lane.
Encroachment on public roads or lanes by building houses was not permitted. The houses
can be divided into three main groups viz. (i) dwelling homes, (ii) larger buildings, (iii)
public baths. Smaller houses, had two rooms; while larger houses had many rooms. There
were courtyards attached to big buildings. There was little artistic touch in the architectural
design of the buildings belonging either to the rich or the poor. They were plain, utilitarian
and comfortable to live. Some of the buildings were probably multistoreyed. The staircases
of big buildings were solid; the roofs were flat and were made of wood. Most of the houses
had baths, wells and covered drains connected with street drains. Ordinary buildings had
little ventilation arrangements, as doors and windows were rarely fixed in the outer walls.
Doors of entrance were fixed not on the front wall but on the side walls. One could enter a
house by the door facing the side lanes of the house. The doors were made of wbod. Large
buildings had spacious doors.
There was no stone built house in the Indus cities. Most of the houses were built of burnt
bricks. But unburnt sun-dried bricks were also used. That portion of the buildings where
contamination with water was possible, burnt bricks were used. For other parts sun-dried
bricks were used. Most of the bricks were of equal size.
The people of Harappan Civilisation had a perfect system of drainage channels, made of
bricks which flowed through every street. Cesspits were provided for the flow of the rain
water and sewage from the houses to flow into them.
The people of Harappan civilisation had an excellent water supply system. A large number
of wells have been found in the city.
There was a strong municipal administration in the towns and houses could not be built by
encroaching the road. According to some scholars, the uniform pattern of town planning
definitely proved that the towns were ruled by a centralised autocracy.
