Computer scientist Rajesh PN Rao receives emails every week from people who say they have figured out an old script that has baffled academics for decades.
The majority of these self-described codebreakers are from India or are of Indian descent and reside overseas. They range from engineers and IT professionals to retirees and tax authorities. They all believe they have figured out the Indus Valley Civilization’s writing, which is a combination of signs and symbols.
According to Mr. Rao, a Hwang Endow Professor at the University of Washington and the author of peer-reviewed research on the Indus script, “they claim they’ve solved it and that the ‘case is closed’.”
