Eastern boundary of the Harappa culture is indicated by which of the following?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, Alamgirpur. Alamgirpur, in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh (on the Hindon, a tributary of the Yamuna), is the easternmost known site of the Harappan/Indus Valley Civilization, so it marks the culture's eastern boundary. The extent of the civilization is conventionally fixed by four cardinal sites — Manda (north), Sutkagendor (west), Daimabad (south) and Alamgirpur (east).

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Manda (in Jammu, on the Chenab river) marks the NORTHERN boundary of the Harappan civilization, not the eastern one.  (c) Rakhigarhi (in Haryana) is the largest Harappan site by area, but it lies within the civilization's core, not at its eastern edge.  (d) Harappa (on the Ravi, in Punjab, Pakistan) is the type-site that gives the civilization its name — a core/western site, not the eastern boundary.

Concept: The Harappan (Indus Valley) Civilization spread far beyond the Indus basin. Its geographical extent is usually described using boundary-marking sites at the four cardinal points: Manda (Jammu) in the north, Sutkagendor (Balochistan, Makran coast) in the west, Daimabad (Maharashtra) in the south, and Alamgirpur (Uttar Pradesh) in the east. Alamgirpur, on the Hindon river, thus fixes how far east the culture reached.

State PCS 2023 Q136 — History PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2023 Q136 — History PYQ with Answer