The Indus Valley Civilization: Origins, Achievements, Decline, and Its Modern-Day Water Legacy

Abstract

The Indus Valley Civilization excellent period was  between 3300 BCE and 1300 BCE. This civilization stands among humanity’s earliest and most advanced urban societies. Flourishing in the fertile plains of the Indus River, spanning present-day Pakistan, northwestern India, and parts of Afghanistan, it demonstrated advanced urban planning, water management, and socio-economic systems. This paper explores the geography, major urban centers, economy, social and cultural dynamics, religious practices, decline factors, and modern relevance of the civilization. It also examines the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan as a modern water-sharing framework linked to the civilization’s historical river systems.