Dhaka has recently been shaken by several earthquakes. The logical reason for the fear is that the epicenter is very close to Dhaka. Near the area where the epicenter has been identified are the ruins of the oldest city ever discovered in Bengal. Wari Bateshwar, discovered at Belabo in present-day Narsingdi district, is not just the ruins of a city, but also a sign of a civilization based on a fortified city.
According to archaeological evidence, this city arose in the early first millennium BC, probably between 800 and 400 BC. This period is very important, because the Aryan or Vedic culture had not yet reached East Bengal. The Aryans entered the Indian subcontinent from the northwest around 1500-1200 BC and stayed in the Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh regions for a long time. It took centuries for their influence to be established in the Gangetic basin, and their cultural presence in East Bengal is seen much later, probably around 300-200 BC. It is therefore clear that the construction and development of Wari-Bateswar predates the arrival of Aryan influence in East Bengal, and therefore represents a completely original, distinct, non-Aryan civilization.
The archaeological evidence further supports this idea. The findings include fortified city walls, planned residential areas, industrial factories, iron tools, beautiful stone beads, terracotta and a large number of punch-marked coins. These prove that a well-organized economy, a system of artisanal production and technological expertise existed here. These evidences are completely different from the character of Vedic society, because early Vedic society was mainly animal husbandry, ritualistic and the development of urban life was very slow among them. No Vedic sacrificial altars, homakundas or Vedic ritual objects have been found here. That is, the people of Wari-Bateshwar followed their own religious-cultural trends, which are more consistent with the trends of the ancient river-based civilizations of eastern India.
Considering the geographical location, it is clear that Wari-Bateshwar was an active river-based port city. The evidence of punch-marked coins and bead art indicates that the commercial communication of this city was very extensive. Currently, there is no river adjacent to Wari-Bateshwar. A few kilometers away is the old Brahmaputra and the Arial Khan originating from it - both of these merge into the Meghna. Probably: the Brahmaputra was closer then.
Jared Diamond, in his book “Collapsed”, discusses the destruction of 5 ancient civilizations. He shows that basically: the civilizations disappeared due to natural disasters like floods, droughts, earthquakes. Jared Diamond did not discuss Wari-Bateshwar.
However, if we assume that it will not be completely meaningless.
The rivers of Bengal are naturally variable. They are capable of changing direction rapidly due to current pressure, sediment level, geographical ups and downs and seasonal floods. The river/rivers that once flowed along the Wari-Bateswar can change direction gradually or suddenly due to a major flood or earthquake. When the river moves, the commercial activities of the city stop, the navigation breaks down, and the economic base of the city gradually weakens. In this way, the importance of the city decreases and finally the city dwellers gradually leave the area and move elsewhere.
We did not show much interest in who these people were, what their language-behavior-lifestyle was. We did not give importance. These are the truths before the people of this region became Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians. Do their words exist in our current spoken language, in our behavior and way of life?
Just as we no longer remember them after 3 thousand years, the future generations will certainly not have the responsibility to remember them after the destruction of the current civilization.
Reference:
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1., A. M. Wari-Bateshwar: An Urban Centre of Ancient Bangladesh.
2.Chakrabarti, Dilip. Ancient Bangladesh: A Study of the Archaeological Sources.
Hasan Murshed
