One of our many trips around Kutch, during my summer internship, was to Dholavira. It is a site excavated by the Archeological department. Dholavira was once a prominent city. It belonged to the Indus valley civilization, i.e around 2600-3000 BC. The site was occupied from 2650 BCE, declining slowly after about 2100 BC. It was briefly abandoned and reoccupied until 1450 BC. The site was discovered in 1967-8 and is one of the largest Harappan sites in the Indian subcontinent. The excavation brought to light the sophisticated urban planning and architecture, and unearthed large numbers of antiquities such as seals, beads, animal bones, gold, silver, terracotta ornaments and vessels linked to Mesopotamia.
The city, which existed then, consisted on three marked areas. Citadel - probably occupied by the royal family, the middle town and the lower town. It covered an area of about 100 Hectares. The citadel stands majestically in the centre, clearly insulation and defended by impressive guarding systems. Next to this stands a place called 'bailey' where important officials lived, so as we were told by our guide. One of the unique features of Dholavira is the sophisticated water conservation system of channels and reservoirs, the earliest found anywhere in the world and completely built out of stone. They were used for storing the fresh water brought by rains or to store the water diverted from a nearby rivulet. This probably came in wake of the desert climate and conditions of Kutch, where several years may pass without rainfall. The inhabitants of Dholavira created sixteen or more reservoirs of varying size. Some of these took advantage of the slope of the ground within the large settlement. Reservoirs are cut through stones vertically. Reservoirs skirted the city while citadel is centrally located on raised ground. Bathing tanks were found, which had steps descending inwards. Even the ground, as we were told was used for recreation purposes, had a drain on its side to allow the water collected to flow into the reservoirs.
Most of the royal families which existed in the past owned the natural resources and all other resources in their empires. They made sure that they were put to good use. People at Dholavira had bathing systems, water lines etc. around 4500 years ago. I remember studying at school about the advanced water systems and architecture of the Harappan and Mohenjodaro civilizations. It was amazing to see them in real. I remember about an other King Sri KrishnaDevaraya of Hampi Vijayanagaram. It was written that diamonds were sold in heaps on the streets, there were no doors to the houses. People and civilizations prospered. People were happy.
It reminds me of the never ending debate - Capitalism vs. Socialism. Capitalism is an economic system where the resources are privately owned. The main thrust of capitalism is that resources are owned by an individual or a group of individuals. For instance, a company can be run by one person or a group of people. The resources of the individual is used and traded solely by his decision. Capitalism uses the willpower of individuals, especially entrepreneurs, to foment economic activity. Capitalism is based on the assumption that individuals operate based on self interest; however, by doing so not only help themselves, but also propel others towards economic success. As Adam Smith put it "By directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his gain, and he is in this as many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor it is always worse for the society that it was no part of his intention. By pursuing his own interest, he frequently promotes that of the society more effectively than when he really intends to promote it".
India is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic republic. Socialism is a system where goods are owned by the state or the public. Capitalism is apparently founded on the belief that competition brings out the best in people. Socialism, on the other hand, believes that cooperation is the best way for people to coexist. The main difference between these two economic systems is the so called distribution and earning of wealth. In capitalism, everyone works for his own wealth, while in socialism everyone works for wealth which is distributed equally to everyone.
The authors of our constitution had a vision for this great country, India. They might have designed the constitution with that vision and with Gandhian era principles. But where are we now. People in the so called socialist republic are on neither side. Probably Nepotism is a near good word to describe the current attitude. I am ending this post on a note of cynicism as we all know the solution for this.
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