Sindhu – Saraswati civilization was the oldest civilization of the world. This civilization and culture was pure Indian. On the basis of the remains found in the excavation, its features can be mentioned as follows.

1. Planning of the Cities – The cities of this civilization were well – organised and were solidly built out of baked bricks and stone. Their drainage systems, wells and water storage system were the most sophisticated in the ancient world.

The main streets and roads were broad and were set in a line, sometimes running straight for a mile and were varying in width form 4 meters to 10 meters. The main streets intersected at right angles, dividing the city into squares or rectangular blocks each of which was divided lengthwise and cross – wise by lanes. The houses had a well, a bathroom, and a covered drain connected to the big drain in the street. The buildings were made of baked bricks. One of the largest buildings in Mohanjodaro was the Great Bath measuring 180 feet by 108 feet. Another large building in Harappa was the great granary which was made about 45 meters long and 15 metres wide. It was meant to store foodgrains.

2. Social Life – There were rulers (ruling class), important authorities, common people (general class), labour class, and farming class in the society. Family was the smallest unit of the society. The remains of clay – idols of mother goddess have been found which indicate that the importance of women in the society, and the evidences of mother dominated families have been found. Both men and women wore ornaments made of gold, silver, copper and other metals.

3. Religious life -The people of this civilization were religious. They worshipped mother goddess and lord Shiva. Besides this they worshipped trees and animals including mythical animals too.

4. Economic life – Agriculture was the main occupation of the people of this civilization. Crops such as wheat, barley, peas, rice, pulses, sesame, millet etc. were produced. Evidences of ploughed fields have been found in Kalibanga. These people had trading relations with many countries in the west – Asia.

They used sea – routes for trade with other countries. These people were involved in industries also. Industries like making from metal and clay, jewellery making, tools / instruments making etc. were in developed condition. They used 16 and its multiples : 64, 160 and 320, in measurement and weight.

5. Political life – No clear information of the political system of this civilization is available. From the administrative point of view, there must have been four major centres – Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Lothal and Kalibangan.

Evidences of well planned cities, cleanliness, water conservation etc. show the skilled, controlled and good administration. Non-availability of weapons and armoury in a large number indicates that the life of the peple was peaceful.

6. Script – The people of this civilization also developed script. The script was pictorial or graphic. In this script, they used signs.

7. Art – The people of this civilization were very advanced in the field of art. The pots and stamps found in excavation are the proof of their drawings. Jewellery making, idol making, pots making, stamp making etc. reveal their love for art.