TIRUVANNAMALAI: A four-foot-tall and two-foot-wide stone inscription engraved in the Telugu language was found on the banks of a pond from a village -- Ilangadu -- near Vandavasi in the district recently.
Tiruvannamalai Centre for Historical Research (TCHR) secretary S Balamurugan said the inscription found belonged to the 18th century.
According to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) epigraphist (Telugu), Yesubabu, Lala Mohammed Kasim, son of La La Duni Chand constructed two ponds, one at Ilangadu and another one at Paaramaganam. The pond in Ilangadu, spread across three acres, is still used by the villagers to fetch drinking water, and it is called Nallathanni Kulam (drinking water pond).
Balamurugan added that the village was ruled by the Hazrat Mohammed Ali Khan and Hazrat Nawab Anvardikhan, the first Nawab to rule the Arcot. Talking about the inscription, he said it started with 'Sri Ramaya Namaha', which shows the Muslim ruler's goodwill for the people and high regard for their religion and language.