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Gargi #Decolonization 🇮🇳

@gargivach

Sep 26

1/ Dear Mothers,
As we step into motherhood, we're enveloped by an unwavering concern for our children's safety, happiness, & future. It becomes our mission to protect, nurture, & guide them. In today's world, ensuring their safety demands more than love & care.

2/ Politics isn’t just about elections; it shapes society, influencing education, the food our kids eat, & even their beliefs. Ideologies like gender studies can confuse children about identity, leaving them vulnerable to narratives that make them question their values.

3/ Certain type of education often push children away from family & community values, promoting individualism & isolating them from the wisdom in their roots. As mothers, we must demand from schools what we want our children to learn. We need to know who creates their content & values.

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Gargi #Decolonization 🇮🇳

@gargivach

Aug 27

8 Mysterious Villages in India
Bhangarh, Rajasthan
The curse of Bhangarh is said to be one of the reasons behind the fort’s deserted state. According to legend, Bhangarh Fort is cursed by a hermit named Guru Balu Nath. The spot where the fort has been built once served as the meditation spot of the sage, and when the king pleaded with him that he wanted to build a fort here, the sage agreed on one condition that the fort’s shadow should not touch him. The king persuaded him that the fort’s shadow would not touch him at his place, which sadly did not happen, and the curse of the hermit followed, which led to the entire village being destroyed.

Kuldhara, Rajasthan
In 1825, Kuldhara vanished overnight. Its people left behind a chilling curse: no one shall ever live here. The reason? A lecherous ruler Salim Singh's sinister demand for a village girl. Now, an eerie silence reigns, broken only by ghostly apparitions at dusk.

Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu
Destroyed by a cyclone in 1964, Dhanushkodi became a ghost town. Locals speak of the 1800 souls who perished, their cries still carried by the ocean breeze. The ruins tell tales of lost travelers, their shadows wandering amidst the debris.

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Gargi #Decolonization 🇮🇳

@gargivach

Aug 22

🚨 On December 2-3, 1984, during the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the Kushwaha family turned to the ancient Vedic ritual Agnihotra, which miraculously alleviated their symptoms of Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas poisoning within minutes. 🌄

M.L. Rathore, a resident near Bhopal Railway Station, also performed Agnihotra with his family and experienced similar relief. This ancient practice wasn’t just a spiritual ritual; it was rooted in profound chemistry and science.

Agnihotra involves offering cow dung, ghee, and rice to a fire at specific times of day, which generates a special ash. This ash, containing 92 natural elements, exhibits remarkable properties. It’s not only non-radioactive but actively neutralizes radioactive particles, a fact discovered by scientists after the Chernobyl disaster. 🌱

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Gargi #Decolonization 🇮🇳

@gargivach

Aug 7

Thread: Who is Muhammad Yunus?

1. The Pioneer of Microfinance
Muhammad Yunus, hailed as the "Banker to the Poor," founded Grameen Bank in 1983, revolutionizing the concept of microcredit. His model focused on providing small, collateral-free loans to the rural poor, primarily women, in Bangladesh. The goal: to empower the marginalized and alleviate poverty.

2. International Recognition and Support
Yunus's work earned global admiration. Institutions like the World Bank, USAID, and philanthropists such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett funneled millions into Grameen Bank. It became a model for poverty reduction and women's empowerment worldwide.

3. Collaboration with the UN
Yunus found a powerful ally in Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary-General. Their shared vision for global poverty alleviation saw Grameen Bank become a poster child for the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The microfinance model was lauded as a critical tool in the global fight against poverty.

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Gargi #Decolonization 🇮🇳

@gargivach

Aug 4

1/15 The tragedy in Wayanad could have been avoided. Over 400 lives lost, entire villages buried under landslides. The Gadgil Commission warned us. They told us the Western Ghats were fragile, delicate, and that human greed would bring disaster. But we didn’t listen.

2/15 The Gadgil Commission recommended strict protections for Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZ) in the Western Ghats. It proposed banning mining, quarrying, and large-scale construction in these zones to protect the rich biodiversity and prevent environmental catastrophe

3/15 But these recommendations were ignored. The result? Unchecked deforestation, rampant illegal quarrying, and construction in fragile zones. The natural buffer against disasters—our forests and soils—were destroyed, leaving the land vulnerable to collapse.

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Gargi #Decolonization 🇮🇳

@gargivach

Aug 4

Ancient Urban Planning in Bharat:

In 1857, when the flames of the Revolutionary War were igniting across the rest of India, the British were busy laying the Lahore-Multan railway line in Punjab. Punjab had only recently come under British control, and they were focused on improving transportation and other ‘state management facilities’ in the region. The railway project progressed rapidly, and the Bruton brothers, who were in charge, used the bricks from Harappa as ballast for the railway line. This has been detailed in The Treasure of Indian Knowledge - Part 1. However, at that time, no one realized the significance of Harappa as a major historical site.

Later, in 1914, an official working in the Archaeological Department visited Harappa and recorded that archaeological remnants might be found there.

But it was Rakhaldas Banerjee and Daya Ram Sahni who brought Harappa, and later Mohenjo-Daro, into the spotlight. The excavation took place in 1922, and what emerged from it left not only these two men but also the British officers in the Archaeological Department utterly astonished. They discovered human settlements and civilizations thousands of years old. The official report of the excavation was published in 1923, causing a global sensation. The artifacts found were dated to at least 2,500 BCE. It became clear that the findings from Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were at least 4,500 years old.

What exactly was found in the excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro?

What was unearthed were the remnants of well-planned, meticulously organized cities. These included houses, palaces, public baths, roads, and sewage drains built with highly advanced technology for that time. The layout of these well-organized cities challenged many of the assumptions held by the British. The British viewed Indians as uneducated, wild, and backward. However, the discoveries here presented an entirely different picture.

The bricks used in these constructions were well-baked, strong, and of a specific ratio. Their quality was excellent. The layout of the city, the roads, etc., appeared to have been meticulously planned. The cities featured two-story houses, with appropriate spacing between them, and sewage management was handled through underground drains.

The excavations also revealed a bathhouse that was 7 meters wide, 12 meters long, and 2.4 meters high. Interestingly, the floor and walls of this bathhouse were waterproof to prevent water seepage.

Harappa is located in present-day Punjab province of Pakistan, while Mohenjo-Daro is in Larkana district of Sindh province (incidentally, former Prime Ministers of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his daughter Benazir Bhutto, hailed from this district). The road distance between Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro is 760 kilometers. Despite this distance, there were many similarities in the artifacts found at both sites. The seals and various objects discovered at both locations were quite similar. The period of both sites dates back to approximately 4,500 to 5,000 years ago.

Archaeologists inferred that a single type of human civilization once existed across this entire region.

Harappa was a city located on the banks of the Ravi River. During that time, water transport was more convenient than land transport. Based on this, the Archaeological Department continued its research.

Much later, after India gained independence, Amlanand Ghosh discovered Kalibangan in 1952. However, extensive excavations took place only after 1960, over the next nine years. Archaeologists B. K. Thapar and B. B. Lal led this mission.

Meanwhile, the renowned researcher and archaeologist, Padma Shri Haribhau Wakankar, undertook the project of finding the lost Saraswati River. In the course of this project, he found that over 200 towns were settled on the banks of the extinct Saraswati River, which were from the Harappan era. Hence, he insisted that instead of calling it the ‘Indus Valley Civilization,’ it should

be referred to as the ‘Saraswati River Civilization.’ Interestingly, the river on whose banks Kalibangan was situated, the Ghaggar-Hakra River, is actually the ancient Saraswati River!

In the 1960s, excavations were also in full swing elsewhere. In the Hisar district of Haryana, the excavation at Rakhigarhi revealed a well-planned ancient city from the Harappan era. Later in 1968, the excavation at Dholavira in Gujarat’s Kutch region uncovered yet another well-organized city from the Harappan period.

Kalibangan is located in the Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan, 174 kilometers from Harappa in present-day Pakistan. Although the excavation at Kalibangan was conducted in the 1960s, the detailed report was published by the Archaeological Survey of India in 2003. According to this report, Kalibangan was the richest city of that era and served as the capital of the Harappan province.

Kalibangan also revealed roads that were 5 to 5.5 meters wide, intersecting at right angles. The excavation uncovered wells, bathhouses, houses, etc. The sewage system was managed through underground drains, there was a pipe system for drinking water, strong brick houses, and proper spacing between the houses.

The roads found in Kalibangan (and other Harappan cities) were based on what we would now call the ‘Grid-Iron Pattern,’ i.e., parallel and intersecting roads at right angles.

Interestingly, when the task of planning the new city of Chandigarh was assigned to the famous French architect Le Corbusier after India’s independence, he used the ancient ‘Grid-Iron Pattern’ as the basis. The city of Chandigarh was built following this pattern.

A fortress was discovered in Kalibangan, and to its south, five yajna kundas (sacrificial altars) made of mud and unbaked bricks were found. This indicates that the towns established in those days had facilities for following Vedic traditions.

The city of Dholavira, located in the Bhachau taluka of Kutch district in Gujarat, provides solid evidence of excellent urban planning from 5,500 years ago. Shambhudaan Gadhvi, who lived in this village, believed that an ancient city was buried here. He made significant efforts, but it wasn’t until eight to ten years later, in 1968, that excavations led by Jagatpati Joshi unearthed the ancient city of Dholavira. Evidence of a settlement dating back to 3,500 BCE was found here. This ancient city, located on the banks of the Luni River, was one of the busiest ‘metropolises’ in the world 5,000 years ago. In 2021, UNESCO added it to its list of World Heritage Sites.

The same Dholavira city also revealed the world’s oldest stadium, as discussed in a previous article. This stadium shattered the myth held by Western historians and scholars that organized and collective sports began in Greece in the 7th century BCE. The Dholavira stadium was a venue for collective sports roughly 2,500 years before the Olympics in Greece, and it even had a spectator gallery.

The glory of India’s architecture, construction, and urban planning extended up to the 12th-13th centuries. In the 12th century, the urban planning of Beijing in China was done by a Hindu architect named Balbahu (known in China as ‘Araniko’), as mentioned in The Treasure of Indian Knowledge - Part 1. As a token of gratitude, China erected a grand statue of Balbahu in a Beijing square on May 1, 2002.

Ancient Indian texts contain extensive writings on urban planning.

The ancient ‘Sthapatya Veda’ is a part of the Atharva Veda. Various Puranas and Vedas mention the science of architecture. The Matsya Purana references the architectural texts of Bhrigu, Atri, Vashistha, Vishwakarma, Narada, Nagnajit, and Vishalaksha.

Later, in the 5th century BCE, Kautilya wrote extensively on urban planning in his treatise Arthashastra. Kautilya outlined how the state, city, village, and forts should be planned. The state’s capital should be the center of 800 villages, with major administrative centers and treasuries in the capital, which

Kautilya called ‘Sthaniya.’

A city located at the mouth of a river, serving as a center for 400 villages and used for water transportation, was called ‘Dronamukha’ by Kautilya.

A city that served as a sub-administrative center and was the center of 200 villages was termed ‘Kharvatika,’ while the center of ten villages and the smallest administrative center was termed ‘Sangrahan.’ Kautilya elaborated on the layout of each type of city/village. Kautilya also discussed water management in cities, stating, “The same piety with which we build temples should guide our efforts to conserve and manage water.”

In South India, the famous text on urban planning is ‘Mayamatam.’ Written approximately 2,000 years ago, this text elaborates on urban planning, architecture, and construction technology. ‘Mayadanava’ authored this text. The ninth chapter of this text is titled ‘Grama Vinyasa.’ This chapter discusses the types of villages, the residences of people engaged in various occupations, where they should be located, what types of roads should be in the village, where temples should be located, where the village deity should be installed, and where and how the village gardens should be situated.

The tenth chapter of this text is ‘Nagara Vidhan.’ This chapter covers the types of cities, their security arrangements, the fortification around the city, the main roads and side roads within the city, and other details. It also describes the location of the capital, the site of the royal palace, the arrangement of the army and security, and so on. The residence of elephants, horses, chariots, and infantry would be around the royal palace. Their arrangement, the location of the main and subsidiary gates in this entire layout, and the market’s distance from the royal residence are all discussed.

Regarding the military encampment in the capital, the Mayamatam states:
Hastyaśvarathapadāti bahumukhyā sarvavājanayuktā I
Dvāropadvārayutābhyannaraṭoḍaṁkajanavāsāḥ II 24 II
(Mayamatam / Chapter 10)

Concerning the roads in the city, Mayamatam provides a detailed description:
Parito rathapathayuktaṁ madhye vāṇijāṁ gṛhaśreṇī I
Taddakṣiṇataḥ pārśve geheṁ syāttantuvāyānām II 78 II
(Mayamatam / Chapter 10)
Meaning: Roads suitable for chariots should surround the market. The houses of traders should be in rows in the middle. Behind the market, to the south, should be the houses of weavers who work on handlooms, while the potters’ settlement should be in the northern part. Other artisans and workers’ houses should be around the chariot paths.

The Mayamatam insists that temples should be present in both villages and cities. It also explains where and how they should be located:
Devālaya pathaparito grāme yathā tathā vihitam I
Paritaḥ sarvajanalayamuditaṁ kiścittato dūre II 89 II
(Mayamatam / Chapter 10)
Meaning: Just as in a village, there should be temples on all four sides of the city. At some distance from these temples, there should be the residences of people of all classes.

The former joint-general secretary of the RSS, Shri Sureshji Soni, provided an extensive overview of architectural science related to urban planning and management in his book Bharat Ka Vaigyanik Chintan. He outlined nine major aspects of urban planning found in ancient texts:

1.Water: Water supply and sewage sanitation
2.Mandap: Public resting places, dharmashalas, guest houses for travelers
: Facilities for the sale of goods to the general public
4.Punitive Power: Law and order, soldiers, crime investigation, justice, and punishment
5.Gardens: Public parks for the general public, educational institutions, and temples
6.Residential Arrangements: Houses for ordinary citizens, factories, industries, and homes for workers
Facilities: Hospitals and the location of physicians
8.Temples: Public spaces of importance for society
9.Cremation Grounds: Conveniently located in the city

C. P. Venkatarama Iyer has conducted extensive research3.Market
7.Health

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