The Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya organised another chapter of Museum Popular lecture on Thursday, where Deo Prakash Sharma (former Director, Bharat Kala Bhawan, Banaras Hindu University) spoke on ‘New Harappan excavation in Sarsawati basin’.

Sharma commenced his lecture with comment that Harappan civilization should be called Sindhu-Saraswati Civilization not Indus Valley Civilization. Indus Valley was a name given by European archaeologist ignoring the fact the region was between Sindhu and Saraswati River. He said “Sindhu Saraswati or Harappan Civilization, existed along the rivers Sindhu and Saraswati basin all located in north-Western part of South Asia.

The area covered more than 2.6 million-sq km by the Harappan or Sindhu Saraswati Civilization extended in west from Sutkagendor and Shahi tump on the Makran coast situated on the border of Iran and Pakistan in and East UP, to Alamgirpur, Hulas, Mandi and Shamlinagar, Chandayan, Sanauli, Nahcauli, Bulandi Khera (Kulesara) Noida and Tappal (near greater Noida) all on old course of the Hindon river in western Uttar Pradesh, and Shurtaghai (Afghanistan) in the north to Daimabad in North Western Maharashtra. Tappal is eastern most Sindhu Saraswati site located on the old confluence of Hindon and Yamuna River in Aligarh distric.

Sharma delivered the lecture with power-point presentation he quoted Bhadra from ISRO and said, “Saraswati was mighty river between 6000-3000 BC. After 3000 B.C. water was receding in this river and Sindhu Saraswati people shifted and made their settlement on Indus Tributaries.” He further said, “References of Saraswati and Drishadvati in Rig-Veda.

AG Gupta (2001) observed, there is clear evidence of Palaeo-channels on the satellite imaginary in the form of a strange and powerful continuous drainage system of Saraswati in North West India and occurrence of 2449 archaeological sites of early, mature and late Sindhu - Saraswati and Sindhu - Saraswati influence beyond doubt indicates the development of civilization.