Inaugural address at the international Symposium on Moenjodaro on February 23, 1973

Your Imperial Highness, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am happy to welcome you to this international symposium on Mohenjo-Daro which has been organized in collaboration with UNESCO to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the archaeological excavations of the site, this place where you are assembled today enshrines a unique piece of history. Mohenjo-Daro is a very important land-mark in the panorama of the evolution of human civilization. It portrays with remarkable vividness the life of man as it was lived about five thousand years ago.

Whatever their Physical location, monuments of such historical significance are in fact the common cultural heritage of the entire mankind. It was, therefore, highly appropriate for UNESCO to revive its interest in the preservation of Mohenjo-Daro. Concrete steps are contemplated now to save this site of universal human importance through international help and cooperation. The present state of excavated remains of Mohenjo-Daro has already attracted world attention. By adopting a resolution in its last General Conference, UNESCO has indeed highlighted the urgent need for its preservation. On our part, we are firmly determined to save this ancient site. For us, it is not only a relic of our own past but also one of those embodiments of human cultures which must be preserved to enrich the reservoirs of man’s knowledge and culture. The limitations of a developing country like Pakistan in meeting the technological and material requirements of the maintenance of a site like Mohenjo-Daro which is faced with the twin menace of water logging and salinity are obvious, But I feel confident that under the auspices of UNESCO, the nations of the world will not hesitate to meet the challenge of a situation where the skill and resources of man have got to rescue and preserve what 5,000 years of time and oblivion have failed to destroy. The response of the international Community to the UNESCO call for saving Abu Simbel in Egypt. Venice in Italy and Borobudur in Indonesia is indeed a source of great hope and encouragement to us.

In retrospect, Mohenjo-Daro is one of the earliest spots which witnessed the germination of the seeds of human civilization and urbanity. In prospect, it offers a creative channel for international cooperation. We n Pakistan shall look upon this International Symposium on Mohenjo-Daro as the beginning of a new era of understanding and assistance among the nations of the world in a cause dedicated to the preservation of a cultural heritage which is of equal value to all of them. The remains of Mohenjo-Daro signify the importance of human talent in collective well-being and its triumph over the destructive phenomena of time and nature. The international endeavor to save the site from the dangers of water-logging and salinity will no doubt became by itself a monument to the spirit of goodwill and cooperation displayed by the man of today in the cause of protecting the richness of human history and civilization.

I have great pleasure in inaugurating the International Symposium on Mohenjo-Daro on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the excavations of the site and wish its deliberations all success.