The cities and settlements of the Harappan Civilization were planned. There were many types of craft production for which the raw material came from far and wide. Agricultural settlements were also developing. All these works could be done by a ruler only. Common people could not have such coordination among themselves, nor could they take such decisions in a collective manner. Even though many scholars are of the opinion that the ruling class did not exist in the Harappan civilization, but this does not seem to be logical.
The List of Functions performed by rulers in the Harappan Civilization
In short, the following functions would have been performed by the rulers in the Harappan society –
City Planning
The city planning of the Harappan culture was of high quality. Cities were built according to a plan. The streets and roads of the cities were very wide. All the roads cut each other at right angles. People lived in houses made of pucca huts. The length, width and height of the bricks had a fixed ratio. The houses of the ruling classes were on the ramparts of the city while the common people lived on the ground below. There was arrangement of windows and doors in the house. Every house had a courtyard, bathroom, kitchen and stairs to reach the terrace. Some houses were of two or even three storeys. People also used to build huge buildings. A huge bath has been found in Mohenjo-Daro, which was used in collective hoop on special occasions. It was 11.88 m long, 7.01 m wide and 2,43 m deep. The biggest building in this city was the granary. It was 45.71 meters long and 15.23 meters wide. Six granaries have been found in Harappa.
The people of Harappan culture had made a very good arrangement of drains for drainage. The drains were paved. These were covered with bricks which could be easily removed for cleaning. The water from the drains of the house used to fall into the drains of the street. There was a huge drain outside the city in which everyone’s dirty water used to collect.
Various Crafts
Many types of crafts were prevalent in the Harappan culture, which were probably sold by the state. Bronze was made by metal craftsmen by mixing tin with copper. Craftsmen used bronze to make a variety of tools and weapons, in addition to statues and; Like – saw, axe, knife and spear. Artefacts found in the excavations show that there were many other important crafts in the Harappan cities. People used spindles to spin wool or yarn. The huge brick buildings found there are proof that masonry (masonry) was an important craft of the people there. The Harappans also used to build boats.
The Bay people were very skilled in coinage (making clay stamps) and sculpture. Some used to make ornaments of gold, silver and gems. The artisans of Harappa were also expert in making gems. He was also familiar with the art of making pottery. The pottery made by them was smooth and shiny.
Settlements Near Raw Materials
Some raw materials for crafts were available locally. This included conch shell, selkhadi, lapis lazuli etc. Therefore, on behalf of the state, the local people used to establish settlements near the raw material.
Sending Expeditions to Different Parts of the Country
Rulers used to send expeditions to get raw materials from different parts of the country. For example, expeditions were sent to get copper in Khetri area of Rajasthan and to get gold in South India.
Long Distance Contacts
Rulers also established long distance contacts. Copper was mainly imported through these contacts. There is ample evidence that copper came to the Harappan settlements from Oman, at the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.