menu_open Columnists
Disha Ahluwalia

Disha Ahluwalia

ThePrint

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Sri Lanka’s Sigiriya wasn’t Ravan’s palace. Here’s the real history

Indian travellers who visit Sri Lanka and ascend the rock fortress should set aside the version of its history pushed by social media influencers.

tuesday 20

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

Sri Lanka’s Ibbankatuwa shows what India gets wrong about archaeology

What struck me the most at Ibbankatuwa was not the scale of its infrastructure, but the restraint with which the site has been presented.

07.07.2026 20

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

Rajka Pottery reveals India’s ceramic heritage. It’s ethnoarchaeology in action

Rajka Pottery bridges ancient South Indian hand-coiling with global modern design. It proves that craft can be both a living archive and a...

30.06.2026 20

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

Don’t reduce Harappan Civilisation to Indus vs Saraswati. No city grew in isolation

Many on social media may not even know that RGR 6, a mound at Rakhigarhi, has been completely destroyed. Every day, a site is levelled to make way for...

09.06.2026 20

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

This Harappan city holds the solution to India’s water crisis

Archaeology offers something increasingly rare in combating global water crisis—a long-term perspective on how human societies learned to live with...

25.05.2026 30

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

The forgotten legacy of ASI’s Institute of Archaeology

While the Institute of Archaeology established by Mortimer Wheeler in London evolved into one of the world’s leading archaeological research...

11.05.2026 30

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

Jaipur’s havelis, bazaars are disappearing. Even UNESCO tag can’t protect heritage in India

When Jaipur continues to draw millions of tourists on the promise of its history, architecture, craft, and traditions, why is its heritage value being...

27.04.2026 30

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

Mohenjo-daro city is not older than Egyptian cities. Here’s what the recent dig really shows

Recent evidence from Mohenjo Daro does not suggest that urbanisation at the site is dated to 3300 BCE. Rather, it indicates that the site is rooted in...

13.04.2026 40

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

Was the ‘Dancing Girl’ from Mohenjo-Daro really a dancer?

The interpretation of this bronze statuette was shaped by the colonial officers who viewed the past through the lens of their own assumptions about...

23.03.2026 30

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

We celebrate Harappa excavation—and dismiss Keeladi, Sinauli archaeological digs as politics

In the storm around Sinauli, many academics dismissed claims of chariots being found. And the public misinterpreted the chariots as a device planted...

18.11.2025 40

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

Imbalance persists in ASI’s modus operandi. Bengal, Bihar demand more attention

The National Policy on Archaeological Excavation and Explorations, which was approved in 2015, mentioned the need for problem-oriented, long-term...

13.10.2025 30

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

Dogs built human civilisation. Calling them a menace now is betrayal

Human civilisation began with wolves by our side. Dogs were never supposed to be stray.

25.08.2025 30

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

Why this Indian archaeologist renamed the Indus Valley Civilisation

ASI survey led by Amalananda Ghosh proved with facts, evidence and precision that it’s not solely Pakistan or India but both were home to the...

11.08.2025 60

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

Maratha Military Landscapes’ UNESCO tag is a win. Conservation must catch up

The new requirements fail to account for how gold ownership works in Indian society. It’s often undocumented, inherited, and deeply personal.

14.07.2025 40

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

Early Harappan burial discovery is changing how we understand Gujarat’s past

The discovery of 5,300-year-old settlement in Gujarat's Lakhapar village indicates cultural interactions, not only with Chalcolithic groups but also...

30.06.2025 40

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

Who were Rajasthan’s Aharians—metallurgy masters with cultural ties to Central Asia?

Identified at 111 sites, many of them in Southeast Rajasthan, the Ahar culture had a sophisticated social structure centred around copper, lead, zinc,...

26.05.2025 30

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia

Buddha’s gems at Sotheby’s shows Indian govt doesn’t have an eye on ‘colonial loot’

India pointed out that even if the colonial government of that time gave custodianship to William Peppé, his descendants had no legal grounds to sell...

12.05.2025 30

ThePrint

Disha Ahluwalia