Discuss the salient features of the Harappan architecture.

Check out the UPSC Mains 2025 GS Paper 1 Question no 1 Solution with detailed explanation, important facts and conclusion in this Article.

Q1. Discuss the salient features of the Harappan architecture.

Approach

Begin with Harappan architecture’s significance in early urban planning. Systematically cover urban layout, materials, drainage, public structures, houses, and fortifications with site-specific examples. Highlight civic sense, technical skills, and cultural inclusivity. Conclude by emphasizing Harappan engineering brilliance and its lasting influence on India’s architectural tradition.

The Harappan Civilization (2600–1900 BCE) represents the earliest phase of scientific town planning in South Asia. Its architectural features demonstrate technical brilliance, civic responsibility, and cultural inclusivity, distinguishing it from contemporary Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Historians see Harappan towns as “the pride of ancient urban planning.” Also, Harappan water systems were an early model of sustainability.

Salient Features of Harappan Architecture

Urban Layout
- Cities divided into citadel (public/administrative buildings) and lower town (residences, industries).
- Grid-pattern streets intersecting at right angles.
- Examples: Mohenjo-daro (citadel with Great Bath), Banawali (early oval settlement later rectilinear), Chanhudaro (industrial hub without citadel).
Building Materials: Standardized baked bricks (1:2:4 ratio), mud bricks, timber, and stone; gypsum mortar at Dholavira.
Drainage & Sanitation: Covered brick drains with soak pits and inspection chambers; each house linked, showing collective civic foresight.
Public & Industrial Architecture
- Great Bath (Mohenjo-daro): watertight ritual tank.
- Granaries: at Harappa, with air ducts and platforms; structures at Mohenjo-daro often interpreted as granaries or warehouses.
- Dockyard (Lothal): trapezoidal basin, evidence of sluice gates.
- Pillared hall at Mohenjo-daro: possibly an assembly space.
- Workshops at Chanhudaro: bead-making and metallurgy.
Residential Houses: Multi-storied, with wells, bathing platforms, latrines, and courtyards. Kalibangan: mud-brick homes with paved floors.
Water Management: Dholavira: system of reservoirs, dams, rock-cut tanks—an early hydraulic model in an arid region.
Fortifications & Ritual Spaces
- Surkotada and Kalibangan fortified with mud-brick and stone walls.
- Fire altars at Kalibangan and Lothal suggest ritual practices.
Cultural & Political Insights
- Absence of palaces/temples → civic orientation rather than monarchic display.
- Standardized bricks, weights, and seals → cultural unity and central regulation.

Harappan architecture reflects civic discipline, technological mastery, and cultural inclusivity. Standardized bricks, drains, and reservoirs show centralized authority and sustainability. Absence of palaces but presence of baths, granaries, and dockyards reveal an egalitarian, trade-oriented, and adaptive urban ethos—prioritizing collective welfare, economic prosperity, and ritual purity over royal display.

Harappan architecture embodied civic discipline, technological mastery, and environmental adaptation. Features such as drainage, water harvesting, and standardized planning remain instructive for Smart Cities, AMRUT, and Jal Jeevan Mission. Beyond being an archaeological legacy, it continues to inspire India’s vision of sustainable and inclusive urbanism.