A walk to remember the forgotten Mehargarh civilization

 

Mehargarh, an ancient village situated at the bank of River Bolan in Balochistan, was discovered by French archaeologists in 1974.

It took the archaeologists a decade to discover the remnants of as many as 7000 years old civilization, as the excavation continued till 1984. The ancient civilization dates back to the stone ages. The discovery of the long forgotten ancient civilization is a new addition in the heritage sites of South Asia.

The archaeologists, though, believe that the historical civilization has not been discovered completely as there needs a lot more to excavate in the area.

Unfortunately, it appears that despite holding such important historical significance, Mehargarh didn’t receive the deserved national or international recognition. 

In light of this observation, an NGO, Tarraqi Foundation, held a walk to raise awareness on the protection of Mehargarh remains in Quetta.

The unprecedented 15 km walk was attended by as many as five hundred people, including students from different educational institutes, boy scouts and members of the civil society.

The participants danced on the tunes of traditional Pashto and Baloch music during the walk. Balochistan Governor Justice (retd) Amanullah Khan Yasinzai also joined the walk and congratulated the organisers for taking the initiative.

"The historical site must be highlighted and measures must be taken for its preservation," he said.

The participants of the walk expressed their delight at being part of the initiative, with a majority saying that they got to find out about the glorious history of Mehargarh only after taking part in the walk.

 

"We have taken the initiative of preserving the ruins of Mehargarh civilization, the walk is a testament to this. We want it highlighted so that the people can know its importance," said the organiser Amjad Rasheed. 

"Historians and students must be given access to the area so that they can further explore the sites."

Rasheed said that unfortunately no further research was conducted after the discovery of the site by French archaeologists.

"The walk is intended to generate awareness for national and international research projects on the area," he added.

Rasheed said that he is planning to conduct a train march to Mehargarh but the initiative would require cooperation from the federal and provincial government.