The name Harrapa is a Sanskrit name (Sanskrit is the world's oldest language) and it translates to "The city which is protected by Bhagvan Shiva" which reflects the Dharmic (Religious) nature of the people of Harappa.

Harappa is a very significant site for Pakistani Hindus as well as all Pakistanis and the international Hindu community. It reminds us of the foresight, the planning abilities, the skill, the mastery of architectural styles as well as the construction abilities of our ancestors. Harappa and Mohanjodaro - both of which are at least 5000 - 6000 years old are still much better designed, planned and have a much more advanced drainage and sewerage system when compared to many present day cities and towns in the subcontinent.

Ancient Harappa was situated on the banks of the Iravati (Ravi) River which has subsequently over time changed it's course and moved 8 kilometres away. It is believed that the Iravati River was used for maritime trade with other Vedic civilisations. Harappa consisted of a citadel as well as religious and residential areas and an enormous granary. Planned development was evident due to the discovery of good roads, defensive walls, a lake for bathing and an advanced sewerage and drainage system which catered for all residents. Many houses were two storeys high and the bricks that were used were of a very good quality and were proportionate in the ratio of 4:2:1.

The citizens of Harappa were reasonably wealthy and this is evident from many of the finds discovered here including intricate jewellery. The citizens of Harappa were an advanced and sophisticated people who were not only astute town planners but also were fully aware of the importance of planning urban settlements. Harappa also had a very strong economy and trade with other nations was an important part of it - especially with other Sarasvati River civilisations. Many people estimate that the Harappa site is at least 5000 years old.

The best way to comprehend the achievement of the Harappans is to climb the viewing platform and view the site and imagine that you have been transported 5000 years to a Vedic Civilisation with bustling streets and bazaars which are overflowing with various fruits and grains and you gain a general impression of the prosperity of the citizens. If you then replicate this to Mohanjodaro, Kot Diji and the hundreds of other sites throughout Pakistan, only then you can gain an appreciation of the sense of achievement of these Vedic people. The granary itself was estimated to have covered at least 1000 square metres. Many visitors have remarked that only an advanced society could build such a large building in order to plan ahead for the future of it's citizenry.

Many earlier archaeologists have incorrectly termed  ancient civilisations as the "Indus Valley Civilisations". This is incorrect because this has never been the name that we have used ourselves. We have referred to these cities as part of the Sarasvati River Civilisations because the majority of these civilisations were not only based near the ancient Sarasvati River but also used the river extensively.

In many places, the Sarasvati River was up to 10 kilometres wide. There are references to the Sarasvati River in  holy Vedas and satellite photographs have confirmed that there was indeed an enormous river that flowed in the Cholistan Desert region due to the appearance of an enormous dry river bed. It is believed that due to earthquake activity in the Himalayas, the path of the river changed considerably thus impacting upon the civilisations that were dependent upon it hence causing the abandonment of many of these cities.

The Harappan people Worshipped God through the medium of fire which is known in Sanskrit as Vedic Yagna. Amongst the many finds here include numerous urns which depict not only the beliefs of Harappan society but also provide us a glimpse into the focus of our ancestors. The urns found at Harappa have images which correspond to many concepts that are mentioned in the holy Rig Veda. Amongst the many images found include those of Lord Shiva who is depicted standing next to a bull which appears to be Nandi. Lord Rama with his Bow standing next to a Female which appears to be Mother Sita. Many other Devtas are depicted on other artifacts discovered here.

Some of the other urns have peacock motifs on them. (The peacock is an animal that is held to be sacred by Pakistani Hindus). Cows and bulls are commonly depicted as well as pipal leaves. The holy Swastik is also said to be depicted on many artifacts. Some links are being made between some of the pottery found here with those found in Western Iran due to distinct similarities though the Western Iranian pottery is estimated to be much more recent than our Pakistani finds.

Also found were utensils, necklaces and statues. The citizens of Harappa were highly artistic and skilled. They made ornaments from gold, they used cosmetics, Kajal and made elaborate toys for their children. The Harappa Museum stores some of the finds from not only Harappa but also form other sites in Pakistan in order to provide a comparison between the various styles used by these civilizations.

Many initial finds and interpretations were made by a Hindu archaeologist in the 1920's but very few Hindu archaeologists since then have taken much interest in their own heritage yet in direct contrast, American, British, French and German archaeologists are keen to discover the ancient civilizations of Pakistan and many spend much of their lives living in Pakistan and experiencing it's glorious history. I am privileged to spent my most of life in Pakistan and uncovering the most advanced Vedic Civilization.

In the 1870's, the British occupiers of Pakistan were interested in building a railway from Lahore to Multan in order to be able to move their goods faster and much more smoothly. When they were in the vicinity of Harappa, they stumbled upon an inexhaustible supply of quality bricks, each of which was exactly the same size. Though the British did not see any brick kiln nearby, they began to use these bricks. They did not think about asking for permission from anybody and did not even think about who might have placed so many bricks here.

The sheer arrogance and greed of the British knows no bounds because they pillaged the site of Harappa which today would have been much more grand visually had it not been for them. They pretended as if these bricks were placed there specifically for their railway line and therefore these bricks belonged to them - which is childish justification for theft and cultural vandalism. It is estimated that tens of thousands of those bricks were used for the railway and they are still in use today - more than 5000 years after they were baked.

Archaeology is an important science that can reveal not only historical and cultural facts but can also enlighten us about the way our ancestors lived. But when archaeology is used as a tool to manipulate and trick others and when you have to deal with dishonest "archaeologists" who only wish to deceive others and push their own agenda, you have a major moral issue because archaeology reveals the identity of a society. If you attempt to distort this, you are attacking that society. Those who do this must be brought to the attention of the world and should be revealed for what they really are - dishonest people with no principles and not true practitioners of archaeology.

Early this century, Harappa experienced this when many so-called foreign "archaeologists" arrived to "discover" our cultural heritage and many still do today. Amongst the worst offenders were the British. The British were never interested in Arya culture or our religion. They were only interested in stealing the wealth of India (Present Day India, Pakistan, Some Parts of Afghanistan and Bangladesh). Countless finds from our holy sites have been stolen and sent to Britain so that the so-called "aristocracy" could have an interesting exhibit to display in their drawing rooms to boast about in front of visitors.

Though this is unethical and a condemnable offence, what is much worse is the fact that very few archaeologists have been truthful about what they have found at Harappa, Mohanjodaro, Taxila, Kot Diji, Mehrgarh and countless other sites in Pakistan. Many have attempted to say that what they have found was of a "pre-historic" culture which has no parallel and they intentionally neglect that these Vedic people were Hindus.

They continue and say that these civilisations met a violent end due to the "invading Aryans". They claim that these "invading Aryans" were simple cow worshippers who came from Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kirghizistan) and destroyed an advanced and civilised culture 5000 years ago. It is obvious that they were labelling all Hindus and Muslims as the descendants of invaders who destroyed the advanced culture of Harappa. But what purpose would these archaeologists have for telling a lie of such enormous proportions ?

Quite simply, the British found it rather difficult to admit that the Sarasvati River region was much more advanced than all of the European communities of that time. Britain itself until only 1000 years ago consisted of barbaric cave dwellers who were hunters and gatherers and had no concept of a Dharmic - Moral agricultural and urban based vegetarian lifestyle. The British went further and attempted to belittle the achievements of the Harappans by claiming that they must have been influenced by Sumeria rather than Asians influencing the world and blatantly showing their "Eurocentric" bias.

The British were morally wrong for invading the subcontinent and were guilty for sending much of it's wealth to Britain (including the Kohinoor). They knew that the only way they could justify as well as lengthen their stay would be to embarass and belittle the local citizens. By claiming that these people were the descendants of invaders, they established the argument that they have no right to ask the British (also invaders) to leave because their ancestors had done exactly the same to the Harappan citizens (what the British were doing to them) and therefore, they should tolerate and "celebrate" British occupation of their homeland.

Though these "archaeologists" have claimed these quite fanciful stories to be accurate, the truth is quite different. Sadly, many Pakistanis and people from overseas are unaware of their true cultural heritage.

The truth was that there never were any "invading Aryans" who migrated to or invaded Harappa to "destroy" the Harappan culture, in fact there was some migration from India to Central Asia before last Ice age.  The Artifacts discovered in recent excavations and re-location of Sarsawati river is enough to prove that British manipulated history of India. I am quite sure that many artifacts must have been discovered before our excavations that began in early 90s but they never made light of a day.The Harappans were Aryans (nowadays known as Hindus) and there is much evidence to substantiate this including the fact that the name Harappa is a Hindu name and that Havans (Worshipping God through the medium of fire) were commonplace.

Harappa is a very important society and we should not consider it in isolation and to gain a better perspective of ancient Pakistan, we should consider Harappa as a counterpart to the 2000 other sites in Sindh, Punjab, Baluchistan, the N.W.F.P. as well as in Afghanistan and in Haryana and Gujarat in India. A commonality amongst these cities is that they were designed in the shape of a parallelogram and the bricks used in the construction of these cities were uniform in size with a ratio of 4:2:1.

Pakistan is lucky to be well endowed with many ancient Aryan cities. Amongst them, is the most famous of them all, Mohanjodaro (Dasuyas) in Sindh province. Taxila as well as Lahore and Multan in Punjab province and Mehrgarh in Baluchistan province also stand out as well as hundreds of sites in the Cholistan desert. Recently discovered in Afghanistan is the site of Shortugai. Archaeologists in neighbouring India are also discovering many new sites. Amongst them are Kunal, Banawali and Rakhigarhi in Haryana and Kalibangan, situated in the desert sands of Rajasthan.

In Gujarat, archaeologists have rediscovered Lothal a vital port which sent many exports from these Vedic societies. The dock is said to have been over 700 feet long and was constructed using over 1 million bricks. Dholavira on the salty marshes of the Rann of Kutch is another site which had elaborate stone gateways - Dvar with rounded columns.

Harappa is something which all Vedic Aryans, all Pakistanis and all Hindus should be proud of. They should attempt to emulate the achievements of their ancestors by planning and designing cities of quality. They should not forget that their ancestors were the most advanced in the world and that they were much more inclined towards religion rather than materialistic pursuits. Importantly, they should remember that any society which does not wish to learn from it's ancestors is destined to make monumental mistakes and those who do not have pride in the achievements of their ancestors and blindly imitate foreign cultures lose their cultural identity.