CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday announced a prize of one million US dollars (Rs 8.57 crore) to any individual or any organisation which aids in deciphering the Indus Valley Script which remains a mystery even after a century since its discovery by Sir John Marshal, the then Director General of the Archaeological Survey Of India.
Stalin stated the measure would encourage the efforts of archaeologists, Tamil linguistic scholars and technological experts across the globe who are working to decipher the writing system of the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC).
The chief minister made the announcement after inaugurating a three-day international conference in Chennai commemorating the centenary of the discovery of IVC.
The CM also released a book titled 'Indus Signs and Graffiti Marks of Tamil Nadu: A Morphological Study', authored by Professor K Rajan, academic and research advisor to the state's department of archaeology, and Dr R Sivanantham, joint director of the department.
The CM also announced that the Tamil Nadu government will provide Rs 2 crore to establish a chair by the archaeology department in association with the IVC Research Centre of the Roja Muthaiah Library in the name of late archaeologist and epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan to undertake research on IVC. Stalin further stated that awards will be given annually to two scholars in numismatics and epigraphy.
"When comparing the symbols on seals used for commercial purposes in the IVC and symbols found in excavations in Tamil Nadu, 60% of them are found to be identical. At the same time, our archaeologists have now established that the symbols engraved on pottery used by the people in the Indus Valley and symbols engraved on pottery found in Tamil Nadu are found to be at most 90% identical," he pointed out.
Bulls were common in IVC and also TN, as is evident from ancient Tamil literature, Stalin said.
He added that markings found in IVC portray a tamer being tossed by a bull, and pointed out that in TN, bull taming had been in vogue. He also noted that no markings of horses were found in IVC. Vedic literature does not portray big cities and worship of a mother goddess, but both are present in IVC and also Keezhadi. Based on all this evidence, it has been established that the Indus Valley was where ancestors of the Sangam Tamils lived, Stalin said.
Excavations near Adichanallur confirm that the Thamirabarani riverside civilization, which was called 'Than Porunai', dates back 3,200 years, the CM said. He noted that scholars have started accepting the antiquity of Tamil society based on scientific evidence. "Let us say, the history of the Indian subcontinent cannot be written ignoring the Tamil language," he added.
Finance Secretary T Udhayachandran, who is also the commissioner of archaeology, said the state department has been undertaking important research and their preliminary results are encouraging. "However, we don't want to release the results in haste. The evidence will be sent to globally-acclaimed laboratories to obtain their views as well as those of renowned archaeologists. The antiquity of Tamil society will be established on scientific evidence. This is our aim. Hence, the results to be released by the department will be a sweet surprise," Udhayachandran added.