纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 013印度封印（7）

When the ancient Indus civilisation was initially unearthed, the entire sub-continent was under British rule, but its territory now straddles both Pakistan and India. We asked Professor Nayanjot Lahiri from Delhi University, a specialist on the Indus civilisation, about its importance for both countries today:

"I think initially, in 1924 when it was discovered, we were looking at a nation which was colonised. So to begin with there was a great sense of national pride, and a sense that we were equal to, if not better than, our colonisers, and that considering this was the case that they should actually leave India.

"Now what happens after independence, of course, is that the newly created state of India is left with just one Indus site, this site of Ranpur in Gujarat, so there is an urgency to discover Indus sites in India - hundreds of Indus sites today are known, not merely in Gujarat but also in Rajasthan, in Punjab, and even in Uttar Pradesh.

On the other hand, in the case of Pakistan, of course the great cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, which were first excavated, are there. I don't think there's a competition, there is, however, a certain kind of poignant sentiment - that at least I have - when I think of India and Pakistan and the Indus civilisation, for no other reason except that the great remains, the artefacts, the pottery, the beads etc that were found at these sites - they're just completely divided among the two states."