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Picture Courtesy:  INDIANEXPRESS

Context

The Union Ministry of Culture organised discussion with the scholars over the undeciphered Indus Valley Script, used by the Harappan Civilization (2600–1900 BCE).  

What is the Indus Valley Script?

About: Used by the Indus Valley Civilization in present-day Pakistan and northwest India, discovered in the 1920s by Sir John Marshall’s team.

Appearance: Found on seals, terracotta tablets, and metal; features pictograms, animal/human motifs.

Writing Style: Generally right-to-left; longer texts use Boustrophedon (alternating directions).

Brevity: Inscriptions average 5 characters; longest has 26 symbols.

Nature: Likely logosyllabic (pictograms + syllables); may use rebus principle (symbols for sounds/ideas).

Purpose: Possibly for trade, tax, identification; may have educational/religious roles (e.g., swastika, mathematical symbols).

Debate: Scholars dispute if it’s a language-based script or symbolic system for political/religious purposes.

Theories About Its Language

Dravidian Hypothesis

• Supporter links script to Old Tamil.
• Example: ‘Fish’ symbol as “meen” (fish/star in Dravidian); number+fish may denote star groups.
• Evidence: Brahui, a Dravidian language in Balochistan.

Sanskrit Linkage

• Tied script to Sanskrit and Vedic period (1500–600 BCE).
• Challenged due to timeline mismatch with Harappan culture.

Non-Linguistic Symbols

• Some argue it is a marking system (e.g., political/religious insignias), not a language.

Significance of Decipherment

Harappan Language: Could identify linguistic roots (Dravidian/Indo-Aryan/other).

Cultural Insights: Reveal religious beliefs, societal norms, governance structures.

Historical Continuity: Trace links to later Indian civilizations, Vedic practices, or Dravidian/Indo-European languages.

Global Relevance: Enhance understanding of ancient writing systems and cross-cultural exchanges (e.g., Mesopotamia).

Challenges in Decipherment

No Bilingual Texts: Unlike Rosetta Stone (Greek/Demotic/hieroglyphs), no comparative inscriptions exist to link symbols to meanings.

Short Texts: Average 5 characters; limits analysis of grammar/syntax.

Unknown Language: May represent a lost language; theories (Dravidian, Indo-Aryan) inconclusive.

Symbol Variations: Estimates range from 62 (S.R. Rao) to 425 (Parpola) to 676 (Wells); meanings debated.

Limited Evidence: Only 3,500 seals identified; unexplored sites and eroded artifacts restrict data.

Technological Limits: AI struggles with sparse dataset; brief inscriptions hinder pattern recognition.

Way Forward

Archaeological Exploration: Excavate more Harappan sites for additional inscriptions.

Interdisciplinary Research: Combine archaeology, linguistics, AI to analyze patterns.

Comparative Studies: Explore trade links with Mesopotamia for potential bilingual clues.

Technology: Develop advanced AI models for sparse data analysis.

Neutral Scholarship: Avoid political biases (e.g., Sanskrit vs Dravidian) to focus on evidence-based conclusions.

Conclusion

The Indus Valley Script is crucial for understanding Harappan Civilization's language and culture, but its lack of bilingual texts, and unknown language pose challenges, requiring further research and technological innovation.   

Source: INDIANEXPRESS