Relevance of Indus Valley Civilization's Pacifism in the emergence of Thoreau and Gandhian morality

Relevance of Indus Valley Civilization’s Pacifism in the emergence of Thoreau and Gandhian morality

 Simon Karty¹, Sonali Das^1,2, Collin Soukup¹, Rupam Das², Reya Karty¹, Lekhika Pathak², Pranjal Das², Marcie Black¹, Kim Johnson¹, Bikul Das^1,2

Walden Pond Campus, Thoreau Lab for Global Health, Lincoln, Massachusetts; The Living Muga Silk Museum, KaviKrishna Center of Indian Knowledge System, Sualkuchi, Assam, India

Abstract: The accepted modern doctrine of political philosophy declares that a fully peaceful society is not possible. This presumption has, understandably, been made by many influential thinkers of the past and present. The prevailing consensus is that pacifism does not work as a sustainable political system. However, this modern consensus does not explain the flourishing of the Indus Valley civilization (IVC). IVC which lasted for 500 years, in its mature state, from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE, was a predominantly peaceful and egalitarian society as per the archeological evidence known today. It remains a mystery how the Indus people maintained peaceful living for a period of 500 years. What model of political theory can account for the pacifism and or egalitarianism of the Indus Valley?  Understanding the political and philosophical system of the Indus Valley will be of tremendous help to bring solutions to our modern complex political system which is pushing us towards conflict, climate change, and inequality.  The reasoning behind this peaceful existence could be explained by a variety of explanations but is likely the result of a shared core philosophical belief system. We have used a focus group discussion (FGD) and Satavata-tarka (Suppositional reasoning) methods to brainstorm weekly for 15 sessions. The themes that emerged during FGD were organized through grounded theory, and then Satavata-Tarka (1-2) was applied for the emergence of a core theme. We evaluated two contrasting ideas of history development: linear progression vs cultural emergence, where periodic chaos is followed by the emergence of pacifism through a process of Cultural Emergence (1-2). The discussion resulted in the emergence of a few themes, including the possible continuity of IVC’s core knowledge system in modern India. Even after 1900 BCE, the core ideas of CVSs influenced the later civilizations such as those during the Vedic period (1500 BCE - 500 BCE) which in turn influenced both classic (600 BC - 400 AD) and post-classic (after 400 AD) India, and even those farther abroad, such as the transcendentalism found in the 19th century American thought (Thoreau), and the political-philosophy of non-violence, “satyagraha”  (Gandhi). Thus, the possible widespread influence of the Indus Valley’s pacifistic society in the contemporary world suggests an alternative model of political philosophy, where the knowledge emergence process may initiate and sustain peace.

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