3. Rivers and Human Civilization
• Rivers played a very important role in the development and
maintenance of Civilizations.
• With the discovery of the usefulness of water in food production, man
realized that hunting and gathering were not the only ways to produce
food!
• Now with the constant supply of water, man could reliably and in a
sustainable manner grow plants intentionally.
• This discovery alleviated the need to search and gather food.
Agriculture was hard work but yielded huge benefits:
– Larger food supply led to decreased starvation which further led to
increased settlements, communities and later cities
– This led to an increase in the trade and commerce. Rivers served as
important modes of transport and transportation for the same.
– As wealth and trade increased huts were replaced by houses, which
further shaped the ‘civilized’ world.
7. Indus Valley Civilization
The ancient civilizations of the Indian sub-
continent were in and around two might
river systems
– The Indus Valley Civilization (mature
period 2600–1900 BCE), abbreviated
IVC, was an ancient civilization in the
Indian Subcontinent that flourished
around the Indus River basin.
Primarily centered along the Indus
river, the civilization encompassed
most of what is now Pakistan, mainly
the provinces of Sindh, Punjab and
Balochistan, as well as extending into
modern day Indian states of Gujarat,
Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan.
– Nearby the Saraswati civilization,
based on the now dried-up Saraswati
river, a river that in ancient Indian
historic texts is described as far
The sites of the
Mohenjadaro and
Harappan sites
along the Indus
River Valley
8. The Saraswati Civilization
"Pure in her course from
the mountains to the
ocean, alone of streams
Saraswati hath
listened."
- Rig Veda
The Saraswati river,
believed to be now
mostly disappeared
underground, was the
locus of one of the most
ancient of human
civilisations
10. Ganga is born in the Gangotri glacier at the foothills
of the Himalayas (14000 ft) high up in the Himalaya
Mountains of Uttaranchal. Gaumukh is the giant ice-
cave from where the Ganga originates
The first town she reaches on leaving the mountains is
Rishikesh. At this point she is wider and slower. She
becomes a ‘real’ river, no more the turbulent stream that
flows through canyons and ravines
Her main flow is through the Gangetic plain: the vast flat
land that stretches from the north to south to the state of
Uttar Pradesh and from its West all the way to the Eastern
state of West Bengal. She is a source of water for
agriculture, passing through famous towns such as
Varanasi.
Finally, past Kolkata in the east, the Ganges reaches the
ocean – creating one of the world largest river deltas and
home to the beautiful Sundarban forests.
12. The origin of Brahmaputra River is in southwestern
Tibet as the Yarlung River. The river takes birth at the
Mansarovar of the Himalayas, flows through Tibet,
China, Burma, India and joins with River Ganges in
Bangladesh.
Called the Tsangpo in Tibet, it flows past the towns of
Xigatse and Tsedang and then climbs north. It curves
around a majestic mountain called the Namche Barwa,
shortly before entering India.
Along the Brahmaputra are a thousand chars or river
islands. Several nomads live on them who wander from
one island to another.
Finally, passing through Bangladesh, it becomes the
Padma river and enters the Bay of Bengal in the
Sundarbans along with the Ganges.
14. Kaveri starts as a small spring in Karnataka
Talakaveri, high up in the mountains of the
Brahmagiri mountains of the Western Ghats. At this
spot stands a temple which has a tank filled with the
river’s water.
A little further down the Kaveri forks to form a rocky
island called Srirangapatna; until the end of the 18th
century this was the capital of the Mysore kingdom. It is
believed that Lord Vishnu himself came and resided in
these islands.
At Sivasamudram the Kaveri tumbles down as a rapids
and waterfalls, where the river plunges downward in a
wonderful cascade to a depth of 300-350 ft. She falls with
tremendous force and her waters are used to generate
hydroelectricity.
Kaveri enters the sea in a triangle-shaped delta in Tamil
Nadu. The delta is large and covers 14 lakh hectares of
land. The ancient temple town of Tanjavur stands at the
head of the delta.
16. The Narmada is born in a small tank called “Narmada
Kund” on the Amarkantak Hill in Eastern Madhya
Pradesh.
The Kanha National Park lies close to the Narmada in the
Maikal Plateau. Unusual species of birds and animals are
found here. This is a protected area and was a declared a
Tiger Reserve in 1974.
The Sardar Sarovar project is part of a plan to take
Narmada’s waters to states further away where there is
little rainfall and not much water for people and crops.
But the dangers if this plan materializes are many:
Earthquakes and flood caused by this man made structure threaten the area around
it. In response to these concerns, that the Narmada Bachao Andolan movement
grew to try and answer questions like (i)Are big dams more dangerous than useful?
(ii) Are there other ways of collecting water for drinking, irrigation and electricity?
(iii) Will those who lose their homes be given land somewhere else?
17. Conclusion
• The large geographic span of India has a variety of rain-fed
and mountain glacier fed rivers, that have sustained the
ancient civilization of India, and still today continue to
provide livelihood and sustenance for the large population of the
nation.
• The rivers of India, apart from their utility, are a rich
storehouse of natural beauty, and have a long and ancient
history of mythological and historical treasures.
• The global environmental problems of the 21st
century will also
have their impact on the rivers of India. By respecting these
treasures of India, both for their history as well as for the
precious natural resource of water, these rivers will sustain our
country for many centuries to come.
