Today in Politics: Amid Keezhadi row, DMK to hold a major protest against Centre
The DMK-led Tamil Nadu government again finds itself at odds with the Centre, this time over the transfer of an archaeologist known for his excavation work in Keezhadi, an ancient settlement near Madurai in the southern state's Sivaganga district. On Wednesday, the DMK's youth wing is set to hold a protest in Madurai against the BJP-led Centre's move to 'sabotage' the archaeological findings at the site.
The findings of K Amarnath Ramakrishna close the temporal gap between Keezhadi and the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) in the north to about a thousand years. This, coupled with a previous Tamil Nadu Archaeological Department study showing similarities between the signs and graffiti found in the Indus Valley and those discovered at dig sites in Tamil Nadu (including Keezhadi), has challenged the notions that historians and archaeologists previously held.
As Adrija Roychowdhury explained in this article from 2023, 'Until very recently, the period of second urbanisation in India is known to have taken place between 600 to 500 BCE and concentrated in the middle of the Gangetic plains. It used to be argued that South India entered this historical phase much later in the third century BCE and that too with the intervention of the Mauryan king Ashoka who was known to have introduced writing in the region. This understanding of Indian history, argues Ramakrishna, was because most archaeological excavations in India were concentrated in the north.'
As Ramakrishna told Adrija, 'We know that the first urbanisation in India happened during the Harappan civilisation. After the disintegration of the Harappans, they spread all over India and I am sure they came to the south also.'
However, according to the DMK and proponents of Dravidian politics, the Keezhadi findings are an anathema to the BJP's Aryan-centric historical narrative that seeks to integrate South India into a pan-Indian Vedic cultural framework, portraying it as part of a unified Hindu civilisation. And that is why the ASI's Exploration and Excavation division asked Ramakrishna to revise his report, they allege. The ASI's letter to Ramakrishna said the proposed dating was 'very early' and suggested the earliest period should be revised to 'at the maximum, somewhere in pre-300 BCE'. Defending his work, the archaeologist rejected the demand.
The DMK and its allies' response to his transfer was sharp, Arun Janardhanan reported. For the DMK, Dravidian pride is at the heart of its politics, and Ramakrishna's findings bolster it. However, the BJP government at the Centre has backed the doubts raised about the findings. Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said during a recent visit to Chennai that the report 'was not technically well-supported and established yet'.
Following Shekhawat's comments, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin last week accused the BJP government of trying to 'erase' this history because it does not follow its 'script' and alleged that the BJP-RSS 'ecosystem recoils' when it comes to the Keezhadi and the 'enduring truth of Tamil heritage'.
In 2023, when launching the archaeological department study on the signs and graffiti, Stalin had spelt out that his party's goal was to scientifically establish that the history of India must be rewritten from Tamil land. Earlier this year, after the authors of the study announced that their study showed similarities between the two sets of signs and graffiti — ones found at the IVC sites and those from the South — the CM announced a $1 million prize for anyone who deciphers the Indus Valley script. He also tied the study's findings to broader symbols of Tamil identity, particularly linking Indus Valley seals with the image of a bull to the Tamil tradition of a bull-taming sport such as Jallikattu.
Coming at a time when there have been major differences between the DMK and the BJP over language, finances, and delimitation, this conflict over historical narratives adds another layer to the tensions in the run-up to next year's Assembly elections. Tamil identity politics is likely to be at the centre of the poll strategy of Stalin's party, and how the BJP counters this in the short run as well as the next few months will be something to watch out for.
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Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who also holds the tourism portfolio, will begin a two-day official visit to Jammu and Kashmir during which he is scheduled to meet CM Omar Abdullah. Shekhawat is also scheduled to visit many temples, including Kheer Bhawani Temple, Martand Surya Temple, as well as Pahalgam and Betaab Valley in Anantnag district.
— With PTI inputs
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