Latest news with #Ramakrishna
New Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Parse Keezhadi findings without political pulls
The Keezhadi debate has returned to dominate political discourse in Tamil Nadu. The village in Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga district, located about 12 km from Madurai, is an archaeological treasure trove. Findings from the site have suggested that an urban civilisation and language was thriving near Vaigai river as early as 580 BCE, upending previously accepted theories regarding the emergence of civilisation in the subcontinent. However, as the latest eruption of controversy suggests, the journey forward from these discoveries has been far from straightforward. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) recently asked the archaeologist who led the first two seasons of excavation at the site to answer some fresh questions and revise the report he had submitted in 2023. Amarnath Ramakrishna, the archaeologist who was transferred out before the third season in 2017, refused to revise his report. As political parties in TN took up the cudgels to defend his report, the Union minister of culture called for more scientific proof to validate the findings. The DMK accused the BJP of attempting to suppress Tamil identity, history and culture, and had its students' wing mount protests demanding the report's release. The contentions hark back to 2017, when Ramakrishna was transferred to Guwahati and the ASI conducted one more season of excavation before stopping work at the site. The next seven seasons of digging were conducted by the state archaeological department.
Hindustan Times
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Stalin hits out at BJP for ‘bid to hide Keeladi site findings'
The BJP was attempting to hide findings from Keeladi because of their hatred for Tamil pride, said TN chief minister and DMK president MK Stalin on Thursday, amid the controversy over Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officer Amarnath Ramakrishna's report on the archaeological site and his transfer two days ago. Describing ASI asking for additional evidence from Ramakrishna as a 'blatant attack' on Tamil culture, Stalin in a letter to DMK cadre said that the party's struggle on this issue will not stop. Stalin added that the final report submitted in 2023 by Ramakrishna was based on scientific results obtained from laboratories in Pune, Bengaluru, Florida (US), and Italy, analysing artifacts from the Keeladi excavations. Stalin questioned whether the BJP has evidence to prove the existence of a Saraswathi civilisation, which he said is imaginary. 'The BJP-led Union government has demanded additional evidence on Keeladi over two years after a detailed report was submitted to the ASI in 2023,' Stalin said. 'They are keen on suppressing Tamil cultural pride. This is a blatant attack on us.' This also comes a day after the DMK's student wing on June 18 protested in Madurai against the issue. 'Tamils are Indians. However, neither the Prime Minister nor the BJP government acknowledge the significance of findings by the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) that Iron Age in the state could go back to 5,200 years ago,' Stalin said. 'The responsibility to protect and establish the glory of Tamil culture lies solely with the DMK and its allied forces. The slogans raised in Keeladi and Chennai are just the beginning. They will continue to echo until Delhi. The DMK's struggle will not cease until the pride of Tamil culture is firmly established.' Stalin's remarks also come a day after the DMK's student wing on June 18 protested in Madurai against the issue. Almost a month after he refused to rework his voluminous report on the excavations at the archaeological site of Keeladi, Ramakrishna was transferred by the ASI on June 17. Ramakrishna, who was director, Antiquity and National Mission on Monument and Antiquity (NMMA), New Delhi, has now been transferred to Greater Noida as director of NMMA. This comes amid the controversy surrounding his report on Keeladi. In May, ASI had challenged the dating and classification of key discoveries from Tamil Nadu's Keeladi excavations, Ramakrishna to carry out extensive revisions to a report that underpins the state government's, and of rival Dravidian parties', claims about ancient Tamil civilisation. ASI asked Ramakrishna—who led the first two phases of excavations at the politically sensitive site — to rework his 982-page findings submitted in January 2023. The central agency said two experts had vetted the report and suggested five corrections to make it 'more authentic.' In his response, Ramakrishna on May 23, defended his report, stating that the chronological sequence of Keeladi has been clearly explained in the voluminous report. He had relied on AMS dating of 23 artefacts, which established their age to be 300 CE to arrive at a chronological sequence of Keeladi to be between the 8th century BCE to 3rd century CE. In response to his letter, the ASI said that they regularly send reports to various subject experts to vet for publication. The transfers come days after chief minister MK Stalin on June 13 said that the truth from the findings in Keeladi does not serve the script of the BJP and RSS and so they are dismissing the rigorously proven antiquity of Tamil culture. The chief minister has framed these archaeological pursuits as part of a broader ideological battle. On June 11, Union minister of culture and tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had alleged that the DMK government was refusing to cooperate with the Centre on Keeladi research and politicising the findings.
Scroll.in
a day ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Centre not publishing Keeladi report is an onslaught on Tamil culture, says MK Stalin
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday said that the Union government's decision not to publish the Keeladi excavation report was an 'onslaught on Tamil culture', reported The Hindu. In a letter to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam cadre, Stalin said his party would not rest until the Centre recognised the greatness and antiquity of Tamil civilisation. On May 23, the Archaeological Survey of India had directed archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna to resubmit his report on the Keeladi excavations after making corrections suggested by two experts. On May 27, The Indian Express had reported that Ramakrishna had refused to revise the report, defending the findings and methodology that were used in documenting details about the archaeological site. 'The BJP government, which consistently views Tamils and the Tamil language with hostility, is trying to suppress and bury the findings from Keeladi,' Stalin told his party cadre. He also criticised the Opposition party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, for 'remaining silent' on the issue. The AIADMK is an ally of the BJP in Tamil Nadu. Stalin said the DMK government has always worked to protect the Tamil language and culture, even building a museum for the excavation findings. On the other hand, 'the state unit of the BJP has also abandoned its love for language and culture to appease the party high command', he alleged. Keeladi has been at the centre of a political debate in recent years. Ramakrishna, who led the two excavation phases at Keeladi between 2014 and 2016, had unearthed more than 5,500 artefacts pointing to an urban civilisation in Tamil Nadu during the Sangam era. The Sangam era is the period between the 3rd century before common era to the 3rd century common era in southern India. In 2017, the Archaeological Survey of India transferred Ramakrishna to Assam. Political parties had described this move as 'unusual' at the time, The New Indian Express reported. The discovery had attracted widespread attention and Ramakrishna's transfer was viewed as an attempt to downplay the excavation's significance, according to The Hindu. The Archaeological Survey of India carried out the third phase of the excavation. But it announced in 2017 that no significant findings had emerged and halted the excavation. The decision was criticised by politicians in Tamil Nadu, who accused the Union government of attempting to suppress evidence of an ancient Tamil civilisation, according to The Hindu. However, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court intervened and asked the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology to take over the excavation, the Deccan Herald reported. The eleventh phase of excavation will take place in June. About 20,000 artefacts have been recovered from Keeladi since 2014. In the report submitted in 2023, Ramakrishna, who is now the director of antiquities, relied on accelerator mass spectrometry dating of 23 artefacts, which determined that they were from around 300 CE, the Deccan Herald reported. Using this data, he established the chronological span of the Keeladi site to be between the 8th century BC and the 3rd century CE.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
BJP Government's attempt to hide Keeladi findings shows its hatred for Tamil pride, claims CM Stalin
The BJP government's attempt to not accept the findings of the ancient excavation site of Keezhadi in Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga district by trying to put out of sight the final report only showed how much hatred it has for Tamil pride, Chief Minister M. K. Stalin alleged on Thursday (June 19, 2025). Despite all the studies backed with scientific results, the Central Government, which was 'trying to hide the cultural pride of the Tamils' by delaying the publication of the Keezhadi excavation report, has failed to produce additional evidence even two years after the final report was submitted, he claimed. Also read: Keeladi excavation report: Why are Centre and T.N. government at loggerheads? CM Stalin said in a letter to party workers that it is 'a blatant attack by the BJP government on Tamil culture and pride.' The BJP wanted to destroy the symbol of Dravidian culture by promoting the fictional Saraswati civilisation, which lacked credible evidence, while dismissing the proven antiquity of Tamil culture, the CM said. The artifacts obtained from the Keezhadi site were subjected to world-class scientific research and proved. 'The BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not accepted it. That is how much hatred for the Tamil pride is embedded in that party's policies,' CM Stalin said. He further said, 'As our leader Kalaignar (late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi) said, the BJP, which looks at Tamil with bitterness and hatred, is continuously trying to hide the glory of Tamil culture unearthed at the Keezhadi excavation site.' The BJP government blatantly showed its hatred for Tamil culture by transferring the director who carried out the archaeological dig, Amarnath Ramakrishna, to Assam. Ramakrishna had submitted the initial report on the Keezhadi excavations to the Archaeological Survey of India in 2016 and he resumed work after a legal battle. 'Through the Keezhadi excavations it is clear that the Vaigai River civilisation of the Tamils is approximately 2,500 to 3,000 years old. This is not just conceptual information,' CM Stalin asserted. The objects dug out from Keezhadi were classified and sent to the best laboratories in the country and the world for scientific analysis, and based on that, Ramakrishna submitted a 982-page final report in 2023. 'Despite all these studies and scientific results, the BJP government is trying to hide the cultural pride of the Tamils by delaying the publication of the Keezhadi excavation results. It has failed to produce additional evidence even after two years since the final report was submitted,' he claimed. Opinion: Civilisation and its discontents He flayed the Opposition AIADMK for being silent on the present action of the Centre, as its leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami has 'pawned' the AIADMK to the BJP. In his letter, CM Stalin said the protests by the DMK youth wing and the ruling party's allies in Chennai and Madurai condemning the Centre's alleged rejection of the report on Keezhadi on June 18 would continue in order to echo in New Delhi.
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
BJP's bid to hide Keezhadi findings shows its hate for Tamil pride: Stalin
The BJP government's attempt to not accept the findings of the ancient excavation site of Keezhadi in Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga district by trying to put out of sight the final report only showed how much hatred it has for Tamil pride, Chief Minister M K Stalin alleged on Thursday. Despite all the studies backed with scientific results, the Central government, which was trying to hide the cultural pride of the Tamils' by delaying the publication of the Keezhadi excavation report, has failed to produce additional evidence even two years after the final report was submitted, he claimed. This, Stalin said in a letter to party workers. "Is a blatant attack by the BJP government on Tamil culture and pride." The BJP wanted to destroy the symbol of Dravidian culture by promoting the fictional Saraswati civilisation, which lacked credible evidence, while dismissing the proven antiquity of Tamil culture, the CM said. The artifacts obtained from Keezhadi site were subjected to world-class scientific research and proved. "The BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not accepted it. That is how much hatred for the Tamil pride is embedded in that party's policies," Stalin said. He further said, "As our leader Kalaignar (late Chief Minister M Karunanidhi) said, the BJP, which looks at Tamil with bitterness and hatred, is continuously trying to hide the glory of Tamil culture unearthed at the Keezhadi excavation site." The BJP government blatantly showed its hatred for Tamil culture by transferring the director who carried out the archaeological dig, Amarnath Ramakrishna, to Assam. Ramakrishna had submitted the initial report on the Keezhadi excavations to the Archaeological Survey of India in 2016 and he resumed work after a legal battle. "Through the Keezhadi excavations it is clear that the Vaigai River civilisation of the Tamils is approximately 2,500 to 3,000 years old. This is not just conceptual information," Stalin asserted. The objects dug out from Keezhadi were classified and sent to the best laboratories in the country and the world for scientific analysis, and based on that Ramakrishna submitted a 982-page final report in 2023. "Despite all these studies and scientific results, the BJP government is trying to hide the cultural pride of the Tamils by delaying the publication of the Keezhadi excavation results. It has failed to produce additional evidence even after two years since the final report was submitted," he claimed. He flayed the opposition AIADMK for being silent on the present action of the Centre as its leader Edappadi K Palaniswami has pawned' the AIADMK to the BJP. In his letter, Stalin said the protests by the DMK youth wing and the ruling party's allies in Chennai and Madurai condemning the Centre's alleged rejection of the report on Keezhadi on June 18, would continue in order to echo in New Delhi. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
