Q.Discuss whether the term “royal centre” is an appropriate description for the part of the city for which it is used.
The term “royal centre” is a modern label used by historians for the citadel area of Harappan cities, but it is not entirely accurate because the actual function of that part remains uncertain and may have included religious, administrative, or communal purposes beyond just royalty.
The phrase “royal centre” appears in NCERT discussions of Harappan cities like Mohenjo-daro, where archaeologists have divided the settlement into two main parts: the citadel (often called the “royal centre”) and the lower town. This division is based on the elevated, walled platform of the citadel, which stands apart from the densely packed lower town. The label “royal” comes from the assumption that such a high, fortified area must have housed rulers or elites. But is that assumption justified?
Let’s look at what the citadel actually contains. In Mohenjo-daro, the citadel holds the Great Bath, the Granary, the Assembly Hall, and several large buildings. None of these structures clearly point to a king or a royal palace. The Great Bath, for instance, was likely used for ritual purification — a religious or ceremonial function, not a royal one. The Granary suggests large-scale storage of grain, which could be managed by a state authority, but that authority need not be a monarchy. The Assembly Hall hints at gatherings, perhaps of elders or priests, not necessarily a king and his court.
The NCERT textbook explicitly states that no palaces or royal tombs have been found in any Harappan city. This absence is crucial — it means the “royal centre” label is an inference, not a fact.
So why do historians use the term at all? It’s partly a legacy of early archaeology. When excavators first uncovered these elevated platforms, they compared them to later Mesopotamian or Egyptian citadels, which were indeed royal. But the Harappan civilisation had a different political structure — possibly a council of elites, or a priestly class, or even a merchant oligarchy. The NCERT notes that the uniformity of artefacts, weights, and bricks across all Harappan sites suggests a strong central authority, but it does not specify whether that authority was a single king.
Another problem: the term “royal centre” implies a clear separation between rulers and the ruled. Yet the lower town also contains large houses, workshops, and public wells. Some of these structures are quite elaborate, blurring the line between elite and commoner. If the citadel was truly royal, why are there no obvious signs of luxury or personal power — no grand tombs, no statues of kings, no inscriptions glorifying a ruler?
The NCERT emphasises that the Harappan script remains undeciphered. Without written records, we cannot confirm who controlled the citadel. The term “royal centre” is therefore a convenient shorthand, not a proven description.
Perhaps a better term would be “acropolis” or “upper town” — neutral words that describe the physical elevation without assuming a monarchy. Some historians prefer “citadel complex” or “administrative centre.” The NCERT itself uses “citadel” more often than “royal centre,” and it presents the term with caution, noting that it is a modern interpretation.
In conclusion, the label “royal centre” is not entirely wrong — it captures the idea of an elite, fortified area — but it is misleading if taken literally. The Harappan citadel may have been a centre of ritual, storage, and governance, but we have no evidence that it was the seat of a king. The term works as a rough description, but it should be understood as a hypothesis, not a fact.
In short, “royal centre” is a convenient but imprecise term for the Harappan citadel; it reflects the area’s likely elite function, but the absence of royal palaces or inscriptions means the label remains an assumption, not a proven fact.
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