An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s7.17

v1.c9.s7.17

This hypothesis, though not categorically rejected, was not generally accepted on various grounds (Misra and Mate, 1965, pp. 124-56). However, it has later on been revived in a different garb. Agrawal, 1972-3, pp. 37-41, speculates that ‘the increase in agricultural produce in the villages forced the need of markets and hence a merchant class. Recurrent floods required the building of trading centres on elevated grounds—a regular feature of the Harappan citadel. This merchant class not only planned the Harappan cities, but also deliberately standardized the cultural traits of these city centres . . . . This Harappan abruptness was deliberate and not a process of natural growth.’ Not all ‘pre-Harappa’ settlements need have felt the impact of the new order; conversely, the Harappa people themselves might have established their own rural settlements.