The Jewel Of The Punjab

Heritage & quality

INDUS COTTON® is a beautifully soft staple material that has longer, more durable fibres. The world famous Indus Valley region of India & Pakistan is named after the Indus river system in whose alluvial plains the early sites of the civilisation were identified and excavated. It has always remained a vibrant, rich and fertile land where cotton has been refined and mastered over the ages by generations of traditional farmers. Our spectacular bedlinen collection with a thread count of 400-800 gives classic INDUS COTTON® feel that will rejuvenate your bedroom look and turn it into an amazing retreat spot. We take pride in creating beddings that are not only immaculate but everlasting as well.

History of the Indus valley

The Indus river valley is located in modern India and Pakistan. It was first discovered in 1921 at Harappa in the Punjab region and then at Mohenjo-Daro near the Indus valley river in the Sindh. Both historical sites are now located in Pakistan, in Punjab and Sindh provinces. It was settled by nomads or people that travel together not living in one place for very long. The Indus civilization was one of the three early civilizations of South Asia, existed from around 3300BCE to around 1300BCE give or take a few centuries. It really prospered around 4,500 years ago between 2600-1900 BCE. It was the largest of the ancient civilizations, covered an area of one million square kilometres. Indus valley has the largest population and territory of the Bronze age civilizations like Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Ancient China. Its area is widespread from northeast Afghanistan through Pakistan and into western and northwestern India. The civilization flourished in the basins of Indus River, and monsoon-fed rivers that once flowed in the vicinity of the seasonal Ghaggar-Hakra river in Eastern Pakistan and Northwest India.

Harahappa & mohenjo daro

The Indus Valley civilization consists of two extensive cities Harappa and Mohenjo Daro and more than 100 small villages and towns. Archeologists have discovered more than 1500 sites and research has given a clearer picture of Indus Valley civilization and its inhabitants. The civilization was literate. Their script has 250-500 characters that have been tentatively and partially deciphered. The people were like Dravidians identified by the language. Cities were oriented to provide natural air conditioning and catch the wind. Most homes were connected to a centralized drainage system that used gravity to carry waste out of the city in big sewer ditches that ran under the main streets, and a plumbing system that would have been the envy of 18th century European cities. 

The beginning of farming

Like almost all early civilizations, the Indus civilization developed around dank river valleys. The farmers were able to grow a massive food surplus along the banks of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra rivers. When the Harappans came upon the Indus river, they noticed it was great for farming, so they were the first ones to create cities there. The Indus valley civilization was situated in the flood plain of the Indus and Saraswati rivers, making it an ideal place in the world to have an ancient civilization because the rivers flooded very reliably twice a year which meant it had the most available calories per acre of pretty much anywhere on the planet. This area was a civilization breadbasket. The Harappans produced food, cotton, and textiles, metal, metal, gold, gem jewelry, pottery, and carpenter crafts, all items that other groups wanted to trade. There are literary references found that further indicate the nature of the Subcontinent’s cotton industry. 

A cultural melting pot

The ruins of the Indus valley revealed that inhabitants had a well organize the economic and social structure. The people of Indus Valley were well ahead of the time and other civilizations of that time both in the sociolegal system and technological crafts. As for the Harappan culture, it can be assumed that their influences affected people as far as south India. The Indus people sailed the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf in wooden boats for trading animal hides, gems, and fabrics. The Indus valley civilization expanded its culture by coming into consistent contacts with distant lands through trading. In 4th century BC, Alexander with his armies passed through this region, and the Persian Empire was extended to the Indus Valley in the 6th century. Then Indo-Aryans arrived between 1200 and 1500 BC and preponderated present-day Pakistan. Islam was introduced in the region during the 7th century and disciplines like art, music, literature, and architecture flourished in the region and it has been a melting pot for diverse cultures, races, and ethnicities.

Cotton farming

The use of cotton for making fabric dated back to prehistoric times. Indus valley farmers were the pioneers to cultivate, weave and spin cotton. In 1929, archeologists found rubbles of cotton at Mohenjo Daro dating between 3,250 and 2750 BCE, and cotton seeds at adjacent Mehrgarh, near the city of Quetta, dated back to 5000BCE that makes Pakistan one of the first regions of cotton cultivation in the world. The cotton threads were found on a copper bead at a burial site dated back to the Neolithic period 6000 BC. The metallurgical analysis revealed that cotton threads were of genus Gossypium. During the Indus Valley civilization, cotton cultivation became more prevalent, that covered parts of present-day eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. The Archaeobotanical evidence shows that seeds have been traced back to 5000 BC in Mehrgarh, but whether they belong to cultivated or wild variety is still ambiguous. 

Still growing strong

Cotton was the staple export of Indus that could have been brought them in contact with Mesopotamian people as the Indus seals found in Mesopotamia suggests. Cotton is a multi-purpose fibre and is still up to this day one of the most used fibres in the world. It is used in textiles, beauty, food, etc. Cotton is native to tropical areas but is now being farmed all over the world since the demand is so high. About 25 million tons of cotton is used every year. Cotton is the most common and utilized fibres when it comes to bedsheets and towels. It is durable and wicks moisture away from your skin and has a really nice touch. Good quality cotton will get softer and softer with each wash and it is usually softer shinier and eco-friendly. Today the cotton and textile industry holds a dominant role in Pakistani and India exports. The 4 largest cotton producers worldwide are China, India, United States and Pakistan. The region produces medium staple cotton with staple length ranging from 1.3 to 3.3 cm. The economic growth of the country is mainly reliant on the cotton industry and textile sector, which gives key status to cotton in this historic region.