Synopsis Sometimes facts are stranger than fiction. At midnight of August 14-15, 1947, not only did the Indus river, from which India derives its name, slip out of Indian territory but also all the sites of the grand civilization associated with the name of that river, viz. the Indus civilization. Indian archaeologists, however, took up the challenge and by now have put on the map of divided India nearly 1,000 sites pertaining variously to early, mature and late phases of this civilization. The civilization is now known to have extended far beyond the Indus valley - up to northern Uttar Pradesh in the east and northern Maharashtra in the south. But neither the number nor the extent is of essence. What really matters is that the Indian sites have thrown altogether new light on this civilization. To wit, we now have: from Lothal, the earliest dockyard known to humanity; from Kalibangan, the earliest ploughed agricultural field ever revealed through excavation, as also the evidence of the earliest earthquake; from Dholavira, the earliest example of damming a stream for water-supply; from the same site a unique township comprising a Citadel, middle town and lower town, all duly fortified. Avoiding technical jargon but fully illustrated, the book is written specially for non-archaeologists who, the author feels, must share these achievements. It is to them that the book is dedicated.