UPPSC 2023 Prelims GS Paper-I · Question 136 of 150

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).

• (a)Manda — Manda (in Jammu, on the Chenab river) marks the NORTHERN boundary of the Harappan civilization, not the eastern one.
• (c)Rakhigarhi — 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 — 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.

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.

This is a 'which site marks which limit' question. The trap is that all four options are associated with the Harappan world, but only one is the EASTERN limit. Manda is the northern limit, Rakhigarhi is the largest site, and Harappa is the type-site — leaving Alamgirpur as the eastern boundary.

• Alamgirpur (Meerut district, UP, on the Hindon river) = easternmost Harappan site → eastern boundary.
• Manda (Jammu, on the Chenab) = northernmost; Sutkagendor (Balochistan) = westernmost; Daimabad (Maharashtra) = southernmost.
• Rakhigarhi (Haryana) is the largest Harappan site by area.
• Harappa (on the Ravi, Punjab, Pakistan) is the type-site that gives the civilization its name.

• Confusing the eastern limit (Alamgirpur) with the northern limit (Manda)
• Picking Rakhigarhi (the largest site) or Harappa (the type-site) as a 'boundary' when neither marks the eastern edge

UPSC/UPPSC ask this as 'northernmost/southernmost/easternmost/westernmost Harappan site', or match-the-site-to-its-finding — UPPSC often highlights Alamgirpur because it lies in Uttar Pradesh.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which site marks the northern boundary of the Harappan civilization?

  • (a)Alamgirpur
  • (b)Manda
  • (c)Daimabad
  • (d)Sutkagendor

  Answer(b) Manda — in Jammu, on the Chenab river, it is the northernmost Harappan site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which is the largest Harappan site by area, located in Haryana?

  • (a)Harappa
  • (b)Mohenjo-daro
  • (c)Rakhigarhi
  • (d)Lothal

  Answer(c) Rakhigarhi — in Haryana, the largest Harappan site by area.