Workshop on 100 years of Indus Valley Civilisation

In a first-ever event of its kind, the India Study Centre Trust and the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums of the Maharashtra government is celebrating 100 years of discovery of Indus Valley Civilisation.

Titled ‘100 at Harappa’, a series of online workshops and lectures have been planned from October 5-16.

“We will celebrate the 100 years of the discovery of a Bronze Age Civilisation in South Asia which pushed the Indian history by 2000 years in one go,” says Mugdha Karnik, the Managing Trustee of Mumbai-based Instucen Trust.

The organisers have lined up a big list of speakers including Prof Vasant S Shinde, excavator of Harappan sites like Padri, Farmana and Rakhigarhi. He is also responsible for the data that has revealed the first-ever Harappan DNA.

Archaeologist and culinary anthropologist Dr Kurush Dalal will be moderating the sessions.

Prof P Ajithprasad of MS University Baroda, excavator of numerous archaeological sites, prehistoric and protohistoric, will be speaking on four of his recent excavations including Bagasra and Vejalka.

Dr Tejas Garge, Director of the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Maharashtra will be talking about Harappan site explorations in the Chautang Basin of Haryana.

Dr Prabhodh Shirvalkar from Deccan College, Pune, excavator of Kotada Bhadli, author of a book on Harappans and the excavator responsible for the first-known evidence for the processing of milk in the Harappan context, will also speak at the session.

Dr Jeewan Singh Kharakwal from the Institute for Rajasthan Studies (IRS), Udaipur and the excavator of the Harappan site of Kanmer, will also make a presentation

Dr Rajesh SV from Kerala University, excavator of the Harappan burial site of Juni Khatiyan and researcher of human habitation in the Kutch from Protohistoric to Medieval times, will be talking about his research.

Dr B R Mani, Director General of the National Museum, Delhi, ex Joint Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India, and currently excavating the very important pre-Harappan site of Kunal, will elaborate on his findings.

Dr S K Manjul, Joint Director General, NMMA, ASI who has excavated the post Harappan site of Sanauli and the very interesting Harappan manufacturing site of Binjor, will speak about his work.

As a precursor of the event, the Instucen Trust is posting a series of articles on social media on the discovery of Indus Valley Civilisation.