Prejudice has a way of distorting even the most straightforward facts. Few examples illustrate this better than some of the commentary on Pakistan now appearing in sections of the Indian media.
Recently, an editor writing for an Indian news outlet claimed that Pakistanis have only just “discovered” that the heart of the Indus Valley Civilisation lies within the borders of modern Pakistan. The assertion was remarkable – not because it revealed anything new, but because it ignored an easily verifiable reality.
The archaeological sites of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa have never been forgotten chapters of Pakistan’s history. They have formed part of the country’s educational curriculum and cultural identity for decades. Generations of Pakistanis have studied these ancient cities in school, visited them on educational tours and recognised them as among the world’s earliest examples of urban civilisation.
Having attended private school in Pakistan during the 1980s, I can say from personal experience that the Indus Valley Civilisation featured prominently in our history lessons.
Recognition of this heritage has not been limited to textbooks. Pakistan has commemorated the civilisation through postage stamps, museum exhibitions and national symbols. Mohenjo Daro has appeared on Pakistani currency, reflecting its status as an important part of the country’s archaeological and historical legacy. These are hardly the actions of a nation only now becoming aware of its own past.
Countless schoolchildren have walked through the ruins of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa over the decades. I was one of them. For generations, students have explored these sites while learning about a civilisation that flourished more than four millennia ago. Suggesting that Pakistanis have only recently realised where these cities are located is simply inconsistent with the historical record.
What is more troubling than the original claim, however, is how readily such misinformation is accepted and repeated. Falsehoods that align with existing prejudices often spread much faster than facts, particularly on social media, where verification frequently takes a back seat to confirmation bias.
Anyone who spends time on platforms such as X will encounter a version of Pakistan that bears little resemblance to reality. In this imagined narrative, Pakistan is portrayed as permanently uninformed, permanently unstable and perpetually discovering facts that it supposedly never knew. History is reshaped to serve political arguments, while inconvenient evidence is quietly ignored. This is intellectual insecurity masquerading as certainty.
The archaeological evidence is neither controversial nor open to interpretation. Mohenjo Daro and Harappa are located in Pakistan. They have been excavated, researched and preserved for decades. Scholars across the world recognise them as among South Asia’s most significant archaeological sites. None of these facts depends on politics or ideology.
Unfortunately, parts of India’s contemporary political and media discourse increasingly interpret virtually every subject relating to Pakistan through the lens of rivalry. Even ancient history is sometimes drawn into present-day political contests, with evidence becoming secondary to the demands of a preferred narrative.
That is regrettable because the Indus Valley Civilisation is part of humanity’s shared heritage. It existed thousands of years before either Pakistan or India came into being as modern states. Acknowledging that its principal urban centres are situated within present-day Pakistan is simply an acceptance of geographical reality. It need not diminish either country.
The larger issue raised by this episode concerns the quality of public debate itself. When demonstrably inaccurate claims can be published by experienced journalists and then widely circulated without basic fact-checking, it suggests a worrying decline in standards of evidence and critical thinking.
This should not be interpreted as a criticism of all Indians. It would be both unfair and inaccurate to do so. India is home to many distinguished historians, archaeologists, scholars and journalists who remain committed to rigorous research and intellectual honesty. Many ordinary Indians likewise recognise the importance of separating fact from political rhetoric. The difficulty is that these voices are increasingly overshadowed by louder narratives driven more by hostility than by evidence.
Perhaps that is the most unfortunate consequence of entrenched prejudice. Once hostility becomes the starting point, even straightforward historical facts become subjects of dispute. Correcting misinformation then becomes extraordinarily difficult because the objective is no longer to establish the truth but to reinforce existing beliefs.
History cannot be rewritten by repeating a falsehood often enough. The Indus Valley Civilisation belongs to all humanity, while its greatest urban centres stand in present-day Pakistan. That is not a matter of opinion, ideology or national sentiment. It is simply a matter of historical and geographical fact.
The writer is a journalist based in Karachi. He tweets/posts @omar_quraishi and can be reached at: [email protected]
