The Decline of Harappan Civilization and Its Aftermath: A Study of Settlement Pattern and Settlement Distribution in Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh (Circa 2200 B.C to 1300 B.C)

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Before the dawn of the Christian era, the history of South Asia is marked by two phases of urbanism. The first phase came to be known as the Indus or Harappan Civilization and the second phase became popular as Early-Historic period or the Ganges Civilization (Dhavlikar 2010, 1). These two phases had a tremendous effect and influence in shaping the future social, cultural, religious and material life of the people living in the region as the traits from these two phases are not completely missing from the life of people even well into the twenty-first century A.D. Moreover, there was also an intervening period (Circa 1400 B.C to 600 B.C) between the two major phases of urbanism which is described as the "Dark Age" by Sir R.E.M Wheeler (1959, 126). In contrast, a significant section of scholars, including F.R Allchin (1995, 39), Robin Coningham (1995, 72), Upinder Singh (2008, 180) support the idea that the intervening period was a phase of "Incipient Urbanism" a period of gradual and stable socio-cultural innovations that finally culminated in the emergence of Mahajanapadas (Great Kingdoms). The rise of Harappan Civilization (Figure 1. 2), dating from 2600 B.C and 1900 B.C (Petrie 2013), was an outcome of various factors. J.M Kenoyer ascribes it to "indigenous processes" (Kenoyer 2010, 106). Further, to put it in the words of B. Avari, "the Harappan Civilization, also known as the Indus Civilization, was the culmination of a long and sustained cultural evolution that took place in the plains, valleys and surrounding regions of a mighty river in the northwest of India: the Indus" (Avari 2007, 38). As regards the area that this civilization covered, no definite figure is possible and the majority of scholars place it between the two extreme limits of five lakh sq. kilometres suggested by Coningham (2009, 519) and more than one million sq. kilometres suggested by Dr Cameron Petrie (2013). Archaeological sites associated with the Indus or Harappan tradition have been found in a number of states in India, Pakistan and also Afghanistan (Singh 2008, 137) Although these sites of Harappan tradition share certain common cultural traits or features, significant regional and inter-site differences have been noticed (Figure 3) (Possehl 2003, 7). Beginning of the 2nd millennium saw a major Socio-Cultural transformation in the life of Harappans (Possehl 1997, 427) as reflected in the gradual weakening and break down of Harappans into several local and regional groupings with increasing regional artefact styles and emergence of trade networks (Giosan et al 2012, 1). Archacologically also it is clearly evident that there was a shift towards occupation focussed on smaller village or rural settlements and there is a dramatic increase in the number of small sites/settlements distributed throughout North-West India (Petrie 2013). G.L. Posschl (1997), B.B Lal (1997), Rita Wright (2010), Allchin & Allchin (1997) refer to this phase of "Deurbanization" as the post-urban phase and J.M Kenoyer (1998), on the other hand, refers to it as "Localization". Between 2200 B.C to 1400 B.C, in post urban phase, degradation in the prosperity, material culture, living standards, trade, demographic shift due to partial or complete abandoning of settlements and a complete reorganization of the Harappan society is seen. A new subsistence economy emerges as new crops such as Sorghum, Millet and Rice are introduced, implying a seasonal multi crop, multiple harvest agriculture which is far more complex and productive than the previous methods followed by the Harappans (Brown 2005, 64). Post Urban/Late Harappan phase can be studied in 5 different geographical regions- (1) Sindh and West Punjab. (2) Cholistan (Ghaggar-Hakra Valley) (3) Baluchistan (4) Saurashtra (Gujarat) (5) Eastern Punjab, Haryana and Ganga Yamuna Doab (Allchin 1995, 29), In Sindh, the post urban phase is represented by the Jhukar Culture, from sites such as Jhukar, Chanhudaro and Amri. In the West Punjab and Cholistan, Cemetery H culture represents the post urban phase (Allchin 1995, 33). East Punjab, Haryana and Northern part of Ganga-Yamuna Doab are dominated by Bara, Mitathal-11 and OCP assemblages evident from sites like Bara, Mitathal, Banawali, Hulas etc. In zones 1,2,3,4 there are abandonments or substantial reduction in population and there is also a dramatic reduction in the average size of the site. But this situation was not the same in East Punjab, Haryana and Ganga-Yamuna Doab as there is a notable increase in the number of sites showing post urban cultural traits. I have presented a comparative data (Table 2, also see Table 1 for different phases) of archaeological sites, Average Settlement area and Approximate Population counts which clearly indicates a major east ward demographic shift from Haryana towards Western Uttar Pradesh.

This book is an outcome of an extensive survey of literature on Harappan Civilization/studies and field exploration undertaken by the author. By analysing C-14 dates an attempt is made to understand and explain the pace of transformation or decline or diffusion of the culture. Many cultural traits of Mature Harappan phase are found to be present in Late Phase of this great civilization. Cultural continuity is not possible without biological continuity. When first urbanization started to disintegrate, Harappans started to explore new areas in Gangetic Plains which laid down the foundation for Second Urbanization. More importantly, it has been pointed out how Harappans interacted with non-Harrapan communities of the Gangetic plains and Garhwal region. Comparative analysis of data of both the phases of Urbanization is presented for a better understanding of the Harappan Civilization in parts of Western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The Harappan Civilization, one of the earliest urban traditions of the Indian subcontinent, marks a significant stage of cultural integration, technological progress, and sophisticated urban planning. Although the mature urban phase of this civilization has been widely researched, the factors responsible for its decline and the cultural changes that followed remain subjects of ongoing scholarly discussion. This study is the result of research conducted by the author between 2009 and 2012 and aims to contribute to this debate by analyzing regional settlement patterns during the Late Harappan and post-urban periods. A comparative examination of two phases of urbanization is undertaken to better understand the similarities and differences that lead to the emergence of complex societies. Archaeological findings indicate a transition from large urban centers to smaller rural settlements. Using radiocarbon (C-14) dating, the pace of this transformation has been assessed and presented through a Bayesian statistical model. The work further explores themes such as cultural continuity, the transmission of knowledge, technological advancement, and interactions among diverse traditions and cultures.

Born in 1984, Robin Aggarwal is an academic based in Saharanpur. He holds a Master's Degree in Archaeology and Heritage Management (Gold Medallist) and is presently pursuing his PhD at Shobhit University, Meerut. His area of interest includes Archaeology, Astrology, Museology, Tourism, Heritage Management, Cultural Studies and Spirituality in theory and practice. He has been instrumental in organizing Philatelic Exhibitions and release of several special covers. He is regularly consulted by Head Post Office, Saharanpur in matters of Philately. Being a firm believer and advocate of promoting philately as a medium of studying and documenting history (including contemporary past), Robin has organised philatelic workshops for children at various Schools as well as National Museum, New Delhi and has guided several Museum Professionals towards improving out-reach activities by including Philately. Deeply moved by the life and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, he has devoted more than 20 years on philatelic research and built an award-winning philatelic collection on Gandhiji. His research on Indian Post Offices named after Mahatma Gandhi is published in the book titled 'Gandhi Connections' by Sushil Mehra. Being a trained archaeologist, Robin has studied Archaeological sites and Monuments in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra and Western Uttar Pradesh. He has carried out Archaeological exploration in Western Uttar Pradesh, discovered several Late Harapan and carly-historical archaeological sites in Saharanpur District. In Cultural Studies, Robin has studied the tradition of Serpeat worship, worship of Lord Kartikeya, Temple rituals, etc. Spread of Sufism in Deccan and North India. Dattatreya Tradition and Guru Tradition are some of his areas of interest. Robin Aggarwal is a life member of Indian Archaeological Society and Indian Council of Astrological Sciences.