4K years ago, Mohenjo-daro grew more equal over time

dwa3592 26 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

It's a pleasant finding but not surprising. In all the excavations done over time in indus valley, they never found any weapons or any signs of war. I have this book with pretty cool illustrations if anyone wants a light read on this topic -

https://www.amazon.com/dp/014345532X?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_...

I am not related to the author in anyway. i heard about this book on a podcast and bought it.

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d_silin 36 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Entire civilization flourished for 2000 years and then disappeared without any clue why.

I have a pet theory about Indus Valley script - inscriptions on the seals are so short and unique because they are just name signatures, to stamp other objects.

Having to be durable, they were the only inscribed objects that survived.

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drucat an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

I had a genetic test, and unsurprisingly I found that my ancestry was firmly rooted in the Indus Valley Civilisation. My family moved away from India a very long time ago, and it was a smart move on the part of my ancestors.

It's bizarre that the Indian subcontinent is now known for poverty, high inequality and the caste system, when its ancient civilizational counterpart seemed to be the opposite.

Genetically and linguistically, it's indisputable that the Indo-Aryan languages were transplants brought in by an external group. This was followed by Islamic invasions and then British imperialism, followed by partition, and the recent ascendency of Hindu nationalism.

Online, at least, the levels of hatred and resentment seem off-the-charts. China, on the other hand seems to be growing by leaps-and-bounds, while India seems to be getting consumed by internal hatreds, and Pakistan seems to focus on the security threat posed by India, enriching a political and military elite at the expense of its own development.

I have to wonder if we'll ever find out the exact point where it all went wrong.

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dwa3592 25 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

what a weird comment. did you make this account to sway the conversation from the actual article?

	▲	drucat a few seconds ago \| parent [-]
		The irony that one of the most equal ancient civilizations turned into one of the most unequal modern ones is notable, even if it makes people uncomfortable. The reason I mentioned my heritage is that people online get defensive when they feel racially/ethnically attacked.

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dyauspitr 33 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

Put away your tears. Amidst all the chaos India is doing remarkably well. If it can maintain its current growth rate for another 15-20 years it’s going to be a behemoth. They’ve been able to keep it going for 10-12 years so far so no reason to think that might not happen.

The amount of infrastructure being built right now is incredible. Thousands of miles of roads and railways per year, hundreds of new airports, many terawatthours of new energy generation, lots of skyscrapers, large scale urban metros, a dozen new planned cities, hundreds of millions of people worth of poverty alleviation, free healthcare for a large part of the population, rapidly growing GDP, a dying caste system in urban areas, women emancipation, dams, huge megaprojects, the beginnings of semiconductor manufacturing, rare earth mining, military exports etc. There are a lot of wins, it’s going to take time.

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satvikpendem 30 minutes ago | parent [-]

That's what I've been hearing for the last decade or two but so far I haven't seen a huge change, especially compared to China.

	▲	mlmonkey 17 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		China had a ~25 year head start. A lot of the work going on currently (rail electrification, dedicated freight corridors, highways, deep water ports, etc) will pay off in the future.
	▲	dyauspitr 23 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		China is in its own league but a decade is roughly right. Dive into it a bit, there’s a lot of good going on and I’m a cynic.