Harappan Town Planning and Society
NCERT Class 12 - Themes in Indian History Part I, Chapter 1
Harappan Town Planning and Society
Harappan cities are remembered for planning, not for palaces. Streets cut each other at right angles, every house had a drain, and the same brick ratio was used from Gujarat to Punjab. This uniformity across hundreds of kilometres is the civilisation's real signature.
The grid plan
- Streets ran north-south and east-west, crossing at right angles and dividing the city into rectangular blocks - the grid pattern.
- Most cities had two parts: a raised citadel to the west, built on a mud-brick platform, and a larger lower town to the east where ordinary people lived.
- The citadel held public buildings - the Great Bath, granary, assembly halls. Chanhudaro is the notable site without a citadel.
- Bricks were baked and made in a fixed ratio of 1:2:4 (thickness : width : length), the same everywhere.
- Many cities were fortified with thick mud-brick walls, probably against floods as much as against attack.
Drainage - the best in the ancient world
- Every house had its own bathroom, and the house drain connected to a street drain covered with loose brick or stone slabs.
- Drains had inspection holes at intervals for cleaning, and a gentle slope so water kept flowing.
- Drains were laid first, and houses were built along them - planning came before construction.
- Soak pits and jars were placed to collect solid waste before water entered the main drain.
How a Harappan city looked from above
Imagine looking down at the city. On the left, a small raised rectangle sits on an artificial mound - that is the citadel, walled, with a stepped tank in the middle and a long pillared building beside it. To its right and lower down lies a much larger rectangle, the lower town, cut into neat blocks by two sets of straight streets crossing at right angles. Inside each block sit courtyard houses, their windowless outer walls facing the street. A thin dark line runs down the middle of every street - the covered drain - with small holes at regular gaps.
Houses and key structures
- Houses were built around a central courtyard; outer walls had no windows towards the street, giving privacy.
- Many houses had a staircase to the roof or an upper floor, and a well inside.
- The Great Bath at Mohenjodaro is a tank about 12 by 7 metres and around 2.4 metres deep, made watertight with bitumen, with steps at two ends and rooms around it. It was probably for ritual bathing.
- The Great Granary at Mohenjodaro is the largest single building found at the site.
- Kalibangan shows fire altars in a row, suggesting ritual practice.
| Feature | Detail to remember |
|---|---|
| Street pattern | Grid, right angles, north-south and east-west |
| City division | Citadel (west, raised) and lower town (east, larger) |
| Brick ratio | 1 : 2 : 4, baked bricks, uniform across sites |
| Drainage | Covered, sloping, with inspection holes |
| Great Bath | Mohenjodaro, watertight with bitumen |
| Site without citadel | Chanhudaro |
Society - what the evidence suggests
- No temples, no royal tombs and no certain palace have been identified - unusual compared with Egypt or Mesopotamia.
- Differences in house size, burial goods and ornaments suggest social differences, but not extreme inequality.
- Burials were usually in pits, laid north-south, with pottery and sometimes copper mirrors or beads; Cemetery R-37 at Harappa is the best known.
- Craft specialisation existed - bead makers, seal cutters, potters and metal workers lived in distinct areas.
Exam me kaise aata hai
Expect factual questions on the brick ratio, the Great Bath's location and the citadel-lower town division. Statement-based questions test whether drains were covered, whether temples were found, and which site lacks a citadel. Cemetery R-37 is a frequently asked one-liner.
UPSC / State PSC ke liye
The absence of identified temples and royal burials drives a major debate - was there a single state, several rulers, or no rulers at all? Also note that "citadel" and "lower town" are archaeologists' labels, not Harappan terms, and that uniformity of weights and bricks is the strongest argument for central authority.
Yahan confuse hote hain
✗ The citadel was the larger part of the city | ✓ The lower town was larger; the citadel was smaller but raised
✗ Harappans used mainly sun-dried bricks in cities | ✓ Mature Harappan cities used baked bricks in a 1:2:4 ratio
✗ The Great Bath was a public swimming pool | ✓ It is believed to be for ritual bathing
Ek nazar me
- Grid street plan, right-angled crossings, rectangular blocks.
- Two parts - raised citadel to the west, larger lower town to the east; Chanhudaro has no citadel.
- Baked bricks in a uniform 1:2:4 ratio across all sites.
- Covered drains with inspection holes, laid before the houses.
- Great Bath and Great Granary at Mohenjodaro; fire altars at Kalibangan.
- No temples or royal tombs found; Cemetery R-37 is at Harappa.