CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday stated that the Keeladi excavation report submitted by archaeologist K Amarnath Ramakrishna does not require correction as requested by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and subsequently by Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
The CM said this in his post on the X handle, calling upon the people to take part in large numbers in the demonstration to be staged by the DMK student wing in Viraganur in Madurai district. However, the CM did not mention the name of archaeologist Ramakrishna in his tweet.
"We have been establishing the antiquity of the Tamil race with the help of science and by fighting against all obstacles for thousands of years. Despite these efforts, certain people are not accepting it (the antiquity of the Tamil race). So, it is not the excavation reports that are to be corrected, but those minds who refuse to accept the reports," Stalin highlighted the obstacles that the Tamil race is facing.
The CM said this, referring to a post by the DMK Student Wing about the demonstration to be staged in Madurai condemning the anti-Tamil attitude of the BJP-led union government in refusing to publish the results of the Keeladi excavations. The students' wing post said there is a possibility that the first human being might have originated from Tamil Nadu.
"Let the BJP government's plan to erase the antiquity of Tamil, as revealed by Keeladi, be defeated!".
The Keeladi issue has been gaining momentum ever since Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that the report of Amarnath Ramakrishna is not scientific and further evidence is required. Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu stoutly opposed the statement of Shekhawat. Responding, Shekhawat stood by his ground. Later, speaking at a meeting in Salem, Chief Minister MK Stalin sounded his support for the Keeladi report.
