Various causes have been suggested for the decline of Harappan culture

Various causes have been suggested for the decline of Harappan culture. Consider the causes mentioned below and identify the weakest of them.

Due to constant incidents of naturally occurring floods
Due to increase in the salinity of the soil, fertility decreased there
Earthquakes caused changes in the course of the Indus, which led to inundation
The Aryans invaded and destroyed the Harappan culture
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CAPF – 2013
The correct answer is D. The theory that the Aryans invaded and destroyed the Harappan culture is now widely considered the weakest explanation among scholars regarding the decline of the Harappan civilization.
– Various theories have been proposed for the decline of the Harappan civilization, including environmental factors like floods, changes in river courses, increased aridity, soil salinity, and internal factors like decline in trade or administrative collapse.
– The “Aryan Invasion Theory,” popularized by Mortimer Wheeler, suggested a violent end to the civilization by invading Aryans.
– Modern archaeological research has found little evidence of large-scale violence or invasion across the entire Harappan area at the time of decline. Evidence points more towards a gradual decline and abandonment of many sites due to complex factors.
Current scholarship favors a multi-causal explanation for the decline, emphasizing environmental changes (like the drying up of the Ghaggar-Hakra river system), ecological stress, and possibly internal socio-economic factors, rather than a single catastrophic event like an invasion.