KARACHI: The Institute of Ilm-o-Agahie has organised the Ardeshir Cowasjee Memorial Lecture to discuss the importance of Mohenjo Daro in the Indus Valley Civilisation.

The event was held at the PMA House here, where Dr Sidra Ahmed introduced the guest speaker, Dr Inayat Magsi, who is a psychiatrist by profession but has extensively studies about Mohenjo Daro since 1980s.

Addressing the audience, Dr Magsi said: “I am here to talk about our original identity. Our existence and identity are rooted in the Indus Valley Civilisation, and we should embrace that identity at all costs.”

Dr Inayat Magsi talks about advanced civic life of people of Indus Valley, their system of trade and export of goods to other countries

He mentioned that after the end of the Indus Valley Civili­sation, all the rulers who came in subsequent years — whether Arabs, British or Muslims — tried to undermine the history of the Indus Valley Civilisation and did not give it the status it deserves because doing so was not in their interests. Similarly, the rulers who came after the formation of Pakistan, as well as the ruling state of Pakistan, also maintains this attitude, he added.

Dr Magsi said that the Indus Valley Civilisation was very advanced and had a distinct culture. However, since it was not compatible with the ideas of the rulers and religious leaders coming from outside, its history was suppressed and undermined, and an effort was made to create a new consciousness, which continues to this day, and all subsequent rulers have followed it, he added.

He further mentioned that while the people of the present era consider themselves advan­ced, the people of the Indus Valley Civilis­ation were also highly advanced.

Describing the infrastructure of Mohenjo Daro, he said: “When you observe the infrastructure of the Indus Valley, it evokes a sense of relief, and no element of fear or anxiety enters your mind. This is because the infrastructure there was designed to be both attractive and pleasant,” he said.

He believed that there is not much data available on Mohenjo Daro and Harappa — the two major centres of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Furthermore, there has not been as much research on them as there should be, so a lot of work is still needed. Everyone needs to think about this, he added.

He said that as an urban civilisation, the Indus Civilisation had a very good water and sewage system, and people lived there in a civilised manner. Though there were other developed civilisations at the time, the Indus Civilisation was far ahead of them. Despite this importance, it neither given the recognition it deserved nor the acceptance it should have received, he further stated.

“This civilisation was also very advanced in surgical instruments, and their civic life was very well-organised and advanced. In addition, there was a structured system of trade, and goods from the Indus Valley were exported to other countries, which contributed to the development of the Indus Civilisation,” he said.

Earlier, members of the Pakistan Medical Association paid tribute to Ardeshir Cowasjee for his academic and political contributions and remembered his work as a social activist.

The gathering was also informed that Mr Cowasjee had established a foundation to support children’s education.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2025