CHENNAI: The ASI has transferred K Amarnath Ramakrishna, who has been serving as the Superintending Archaeologist of the Temple Survey Project in Chennai, to Delhi. Sources said though transfers are effected once in three years, Ramakrishna has been transferred to ASI headquarters prematurely. He assumed charge in Chennai in October 2021 and this transfer is a premature one. Ramakrishna had submitted a 982-page report on the first two phases of excavations in Keeladi in January.
Strongly condemning the transfer of Ramakrishna within a short span from Tamil Nadu, Dravidar Kazhagam president K Veeramani, in a statement here, said archaeological research in Tamil Nadu has been attracting the attention of various countries across the globe in a big way. New evidence of the antiquity of Dravidian civilisation has been unearthed in the state.
“At this juncture, transferring Amarnath Ramakrishna, an officer in the ASI, to Delhi without any reason is condemnable. This is a conspiracy to prevent the compilation of historical evidence of the Tamils’ ancient civilisation. In the past also, Ramakrishna was transferred to many places and he returned to Tamil Nadu. Chief Minister MK Stalin should write to the Union Minister for Culture to retain Ramakrishna in Tamil Nadu will help research continue at a quick pace,” Veeramani said.