THOOTUHKUDI: Drawing parallels between the civilisations of Korkai and the Indus Valley, former bureaucrat and archaeological researcher R Balakrishnan has now contended that the decline of Indus Valley civilization could have been the time the Sangam Era began.
While speaking on the topic "Per Isai Korkai" at the Thoothukudi book fair, Balakrishnan said Tamils have been an intellectually-motivated community not only in this era, but even as previously as the rule of Pandiyan king Ariyapadai Kadantha Nedunchezhian. The king had said in a song in "Purananuru" that he would prefer knowledgeable people over seniority in his administration, which reveals the significance given to education 2,200 years ago; at a time when the varna system was slowly seeping into the Indian sub-continent, he said.
"The name 'Aadhan' was common among Tamils for over two millennia. This archaic Tamil name is found in Tamili scripts on the mud pots unearthed from Keezhadi and Sivagalai -- which reportedly belonged to 2,400-2,300 years ago. A Pugalur stone inscription mentions 'Aadhan' in Tamili, and the word is also mentioned 12 times in Sangam Era literary pieces, including Aadhan Elini and Aadhan Alicy. The present-day TN voters list also has a cache of over 100 persons named Aadhan," he said this to highlight the continuity of a name for over 2000 years.
Pointing to the cultural dynamics and alternative views of Tamils 2,200 years ago, Balakrishnan, who had extensively researched in the field of Onomastics, Indology, and Tamil Studies, referred to a conversation of Mangudi Kizhar, a landlord, in Sangam literature. "The landlord is said to have stated there is no god other than the hero stones of slain warriors. No politics is possible without debates of cultural impacts," he added.
The two questions that remain unanswered in India are about the language spoken by the inhabitants in Harappa and Mohenjo Daro of the Indus Valley civilisation and where did they disperse after the cities' decline. "In this context, it may be noted that Tamil names like Korkai, Vanchi, Thondi, Cheran, Cholan, Pandiyan, Maran, Kovalan, Athiyaman, Karikalan, Kannagi, Kovalan and Poompuhar were used as titles of places in the Indus Valley. The Indus people and Tamils are two sides of the same coin. Both civilisations converge at one point, and thus the decline of Indus valley civilization should have been the beginning of the Sangam era," the 1984 batch IAS officer said.
More than 40 poets in the Sangam literature were women, the archaeological researcher added. "As the famous poet Avvaiyar spoke even about politics, imagine how much equal access to opportunities the bold Tamil women would have enjoyed back then. This shows the distributiveness of education of that era," said Balakrishnan, who is also the chief advisor to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
The first script to be printed in a press here was Tamil, and at least 40% of the books printed between 1,700 CE and 1,900 CE were in the Tamil language, while only one Sanskrit book was translated then, he further said.