Ministry of Culture's post on 4,500-year-old Indus dice taps into heritage pride

The Ministry of Culture's post on a 4,500-year-old terracotta dice from the Indus-Saraswati Civilisation drew wide attention online.

In Short

• Ministry of Culture shared a post on 4,500-year-old Indus dice
• Ministry highlighted living heritage, cultural continuity from ancient times
• Social media users urged more content on India's ancient heritage

A post shared by the Ministry of Culture on a 4,500-year-old terracotta dice from the Indus-Saraswati Civilisation has gone viral on social media, with many users applauding its focus on India's living heritage.

"This 4,500-year-old terracotta dice from the Indus-Saraswati Civilisation is a powerful reminder of India's living heritage. Dicing is also mentioned as a popular game in Rig and Atharva Vedas," the ministry said.

The ministry, in their post, also said that elements of ancient Indian civilisation continue to survive in contemporary life through "symbols and craftsmanship to rituals, yogic practices, and collective memory."

"Civilisational inheritance is not just about geography or ruins, it is defined by living customs, symbols, rituals, and unbroken cultural consciousness. India is the enduring living continuity of the Indus-Saraswati Civilisation," the ministry added.

Take a look at the post here:

The post drew widespread appreciation from several social media users, many of whom urged the ministry to continue publishing similar content on India's ancient heritage.

"Wonderful! Please keep going. Best wishes to the team drafting these posts. Reclamation is not revision," one user wrote.

One of the comments also read, "Excellent. Keep going. Looking forward to more such credible and authentic information on civilisational continuity of India. Would recommend a thread on Indus-Saraswati Civilisation with key evidence and findings summarised."

The post on the Indus Valley dice comes days after the Ministry of Culture shared a photo of what it called the "Pashupati-Shiva Seal." It described the Harappan seal, about 4,300 years old, as one of the most powerful symbols of India's "unbroken civilisational continuity".

A debate erupted soon after American historian Audrey Truschke challenged the government's interpretation of the artifact. She contended that the image on the seal (420/DK-G area find) is "more likely adapted from proto-Elamite iconography" and represented a Eurasian "lord of animals" deity rather than Hindu deity, Shiva.

Truschke's remark triggered a debate on archaeology, civilisational continuity and who gets to interpret India's ancient past.

- Ends