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In Ahimsa: 100 Reflections on the Harappan Civilization, Devdutt Pattanaik argues that the Harappan past survives not only as an archaeological subject but also through cultural memory. A Scroll excerpt published on September 30, 2024, develops that idea by looking at artefacts as clues to human concerns—including desire, insecurity, status and ritual—while questioning how much can safely be inferred from familiar labels attached to them.
The book’s central claim
Pattanaik begins from the proposition that culture is about people as well as systems. As he puts it, “Culture is eventually about people: their cravings and insecurities.” In the excerpt, that perspective shifts attention from economic and political accounts of the Harappan civilisation toward the lives and meanings that might be glimpsed through objects.
His larger argument is that elements of Harappan culture persist in present memory. The excerpt offers an interpretive way to think about that persistence; it does not independently establish that every custom or practice discussed has continued unchanged from Harappan times to the present.
What the artefacts can—and cannot—say
Clay figurines and possible meanings
Pattanaik discusses female clay figurines from Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, including their ornaments and possible connections with ritual or fertility. These are possibilities offered in his reading of the objects, not conclusions established by the excerpt as archaeological consensus.
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The figure known as the “dancing-girl”
The bronze figure popularly called the “dancing-girl” takes its name from British archaeologists’ comparison with performers they had encountered. Pattanaik questions whether the figure’s posture alone proves that she was dancing. The distinction matters: a conventional name can shape what viewers expect to see, but it is not, by itself, evidence of the object’s original purpose or the activity it depicts.
The so-called “priest-king”
Pattanaik also examines a bearded steatite image commonly identified as a “priest-king.” He raises questions about that identification and possible connections with other regions. These, too, are the author’s interpretations and hypotheses in the excerpt, rather than independently verified findings presented there.
Everyday life as a route into the past
Alongside the named objects, the excerpt touches on trade and credit, social status, adornment, food, clothing and possible ritual. Taken together, these subjects reflect Pattanaik’s effort to approach Harappan culture through ordinary human experience, not only through political or economic frameworks. They also show the limits of interpretation: an artefact can prompt questions about life and belief, but a proposed meaning should not be confused with direct proof.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where to read the excerpt
Scroll published the excerpt on September 30, 2024, under the headline “In a new book, Devdutt Pattanaik argues that the Harappan civilisation persists in our memories.” It is drawn from Pattanaik’s Ahimsa: 100 Reflections on the Harappan Civilization, which the excerpt credits to HarperCollins India. The book’s title uses the spelling “Civilization”; Scroll’s headline uses “civilisation.”
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