With reference to Harappan Culture, answer the following questions:

(a) Discuss briefly the indigenous origin of the Harappan Civilisation.

(b) Describe the extent of the civilisation.

(c) Name any four cities of the Harappan Civilisation and a significant feature of each city.

(a) The Harappan Civilisation had its roots in Indian soil.The civilisation evolved in areas near the Indus river and expanded over the time.The urban culture which has been observed was just the extension of local village culture along with effect of trade relations with Mesopotamia.The historians found some marked similarities between the pre-Harappan and proto-Harappan culture at Kot Diji, Amri and Kalibangan in terms of granary, defensive walls and long distance trade in these settlements.

(b) The Harappan Civilisation was the largest of all ancient civilisations covering a triangular area of 1.3 million sq.km . It extended from Suktagendor (Baluchistan) in west to Alamgirpur (U.P.) in the east and from Manda (Jammu) in the north to Bhagatrav (Narmada Estuary) in the south. The Harappan Civilisation covered parts of Punjab, Haryana, Sindh, Baluchistan, Gujarat, Rajasthan and fringes of western Uttar Pradesh.

(c) The four important cities of the Harappan Civilisation are:

1. Harappa — It is situated in Montgomery district of Punjab on the left bank of Ravi river. It was the first site to be discovered in 1921. It measured around 5 km in circuit and was an important centre of Metallurgy.
2. Mohenjo-daro — It is situated in Larkana district of Sindh on the right bank of Indus river. It was the second site to be discovered in 1922. The main feature of this city is it's drainage system and it's roads. It is linked to Harappa through Indus river.
3. Chanhudaro — It lies about 130 km south of Mohenjo-daro. It was probably the industrial hub with bangle and beads making industries. Copper and Bronze models of carts with seated drivers were also found from this city.
4. Lothal — It is situated in Gujarat. A rectangular dockyard was discovered here. Lothal was an important trading and manufacturing centre of the Indus Valley Civilisation and was used for carrying out overseas trade.