Piecing together the story of the past, while being firmly rooted in the present, cognisant that this could change in the future as new discoveries dawn, lends The People of the Indus its dialogic charm. 

This graphic novel attempts to tell the story of the Indus Valley civilization based on archaeological evidence found so far, along with the insights gleaned from books and journals on the subject. Co-created with Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, an American archaeologist and academic whose research focuses on the Indus Valley civilization, the book flits backs and forth between time, as the narrator and primary author Nikhil Gulati, leads the reader through a journey of the birth, the height, and the eventual death of a civilization.

With the settlements of Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Lothal, and Dholavira at the forefront, the book details the thoughtful urban planning that was reflective of practical concerns. It delves into trade and commerce, social stratification, and craftspersonship as well.

The book makes it a point to highlight the open questions that research is yet to find the answers for, such as, what was the primary language spoken by the people of the Indus? What do the inscriptions from the Indus Valley civilization actually tell us? Unlike the Greek and Mesopotamian civilizations where there are inscriptions that map to at least one known language, there are no such samples for the 4000 short inscriptions found from the Indus Valley so far, the text of this book mentions. 

It lays open the dilemmas that continue to puzzle researchers today, training the spotlight on grey areas that sometimes tend to be depicted in black and white by the ruling dispensations in India. While it serves as a starting point for those interested in exploring the history of the Indus Valley civilization, the book stays true to the idea that it hopes to open several doors to research areas that young readers today may want to walk through tomorrow.

The People of the Indus
Written by Nikhil Gulati with Jonathan Mark Kenoyer
ISBN: 9780143455325
Published by Puffin Books

Awards: 2023 Neev Book Award – Young Adult category

You can buy a copy here, or find it at a library

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Karthika Gopalakrishnan is the Head of Reading at Neev Academy, Bangalore, and the Director of the Neev Literature Festival. In the past, she has worked as a children’s book writer, editor, and content curator at Multistory Learning which ran a reading program for schools across south India. Prior to this, Karthika was a full-time print journalist with two national dailies. Her Twitter handle is g_karthika.