Revision summary
India kept Sanskrit–Prakrit–vernacular, pilgrimage, and dharma as living practice. Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece lost their old public cults after conversion and empire. Harappan script is still unread, so the oldest urban layer is not a proven straight line. Islam, colonialism, and Partition remade custom even while older forms survived. The comment is fair as relative continuity, not as zero breakdown.
Model answer
Flow diagram
flowchart TD I[Vedic temple Bhakti stream] --> L[Living language ritual] E[Egypt Mesopotamia Greece] --> B[Cult and script break] C[Islam colony cities] --> I L --> P[Present India] C --> P
Conclusion
- Comment by comparing living ritual and language with dead scripts of the Nile and Tigris, then qualify with Islam, colonialism, and unread Harappa.
- Treat preservation as adaptive memory, not as an unbroken political state from Mohenjo-daro to the Republic.
Indian civilisation kept a denser living chain of language, pilgrimage, and social form than Egypt, Mesopotamia, or classical Greece. The difference is real, but it is continuity through change, not a culture without breakdown.
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Students also ask
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Mesolithic rock cut architecture of India not only reflects the cultural life of the times but also a fine aesthetic sense comparable to modern painting. Critically evaluate this comment.
Next question on this syllabus topic (2015 · Q2). View answer →
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Is Indian culture unchanged since the Indus cities?
No. Script, cities, and much religion of Harappa are not clearly continued. Continuity is stronger in later Vedic, classical, and Bhakti layers.
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Did Greece keep nothing of its past?
Language, ruins, and philosophy survived. The old civic pagan cult did not survive as the public religion of the people.
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