DECLINE OF THE HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION
■ The Harappan Civilization flourished till 1900 BC.
■ Mohenjodaro was reduced to a small settlement of three hectares from the original eighty five hectares towards the end of the Late phase.
■ The population appears to have shifted to other areas.
■ It is indicated by the large number of new settlements in the outlying areas of Gujarat, east Punjab, Haryana and Upper Doab during the later Harappan period.
■ It is suggested by some scholars that natural calamities such as floods and earthquakes might have caused the decline of the civilization.
■ It is believed that earthquakes might have raised the level of the flood plains of the lower course of Indus river.
■ It blocked the passage of the river water to the sea and resulted in the floods which might have swallowed the city of Mohenjodaro.
■ Increased aridity and drying up of the river Ghaggar-Harka on account of the changes in river courses, according to some scholars, might have contributed to the decline.
■ This theory states that there was an increase in arid conditions by around 2000 BC. This might have affected agricultural production, and led to the decline.
■ Aryan invasion theory is also put forward as a cause for the decline.
■ The Harappan civilization was destroyed by the Aryans who came to India from north-west around 1500 BC.
■ The archaeological evidence indicates that
the Harappan civilization did not collapse all of a sudden but declined gradually and ultimately merged with other local cultures.