The earliest evidence of systematic farming in the Indian subcontinent comes from:

Mehrgarh, near the Bolan Pass in the Kachhi plain of Balochistan, Pakistan, has provided the earliest evidence of farming and animal herding in the Indian subcontinent.

About Mehrgarh:

• It was discovered in 1974 by a team of French archaeologists led by Jean-François Jarrige and Catherine Jarrige.
• Its earliest Neolithic phase dates to about 7000 BCE.
• It was occupied for a very long time, until about 2600 BCE, showing the development from early farming to the beginnings of the Harappan civilisation.

Evidence of farming:

• NCERT says that Mehrgarh is one of the earliest villages that we know about, and that people here were among the first to learn to grow barley and wheat, and to rear sheep and goats.
• Remains of barley and wheat have been found in the earliest levels.
• Bones of wild animals in the lowest layers, and of domestic sheep, goats and cattle in later layers, show the change from hunting to herding.
• Cotton seeds found at the site suggest that cotton was grown, perhaps around 5000 BCE.

Other finds at Mehrgarh:

• Square or rectangular houses of mud bricks, with four or more compartments, some probably used for storage.
• Burials of the dead, with goods such as goats, shells and beads, which suggests a belief in life after death.
• One of the earliest evidences of dentistry in the world: teeth with drilled holes, about 9,000 years old.
• Later phases show pottery, copper objects and figurines.

Importance:

• Mehrgarh shows that agriculture in South Asia developed locally, and was not simply brought from West Asia.
• It is considered a forerunner of the Indus Valley civilisation.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Burzahom is a Neolithic site in Kashmir.
• ✗Chirand is a Neolithic site in Bihar.
• ✗Lothal is a Harappan port in Gujarat.