MADURAI: DMK deputy general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Tiruchi N Siva on Wednesday said the BJP-led union government could not take on the DMK politically, and has unleashed a cultural and ideological war against Tamil people by refusing to accept the facts of Keezhadi despite it being presented with scientific evidence.
Speaking at a protest organised by the DMK student wing in Madurai to urge the Union government to accept the Keezhadi report filed by archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna, Siva said,
“Apart from scientific evidence, we have literature that can be correlated with Keezhadi findings, whereas the Harappan Civilization (Indus Valley Civilization) has no such proof. We proved that the Iron Age began in Tamil Nadu with Keezhadi evidence.”
Further, he said, “The union government believes that by transferring Amarnath, they could put an end to the matter, but MPs from Tamil Nadu will not let that happen.”
Theni MP Thanga Tamilselvan, DMK student wing secretary Rajiv Gandhi, also took part in the protest.
BJP trying to bury Tamil heritage: TVK
Chennai: TVK on Wednesday strongly condemned the union government for the inordinate delay in releasing the report of the first two phases of excavations at Keezhadi and for the recent transfer of archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna, who led the excavations and submitted the report.
In a statement, Dr KG Arunraj, propaganda secretary of TVK and a former IRS officer who recently took voluntary retirement to join the party, said the centre’s move appeared to be a deliberate attempt to suppress findings that could challenge mainstream historical narratives upheld by the BJP.
He claimed that the report, submitted by Amarnath to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in January 2023, contained scientifically-backed evidence pointing to a sophisticated Tamil urban civilisation dating back over 2,600 years.
Arunraj further accused the BJP of attempting to bury Tamil cultural heritage under a “Sanskrit-Hindi narrative”. He also criticised the DMK for allegedly enacting a “drama of resistance” while covertly aligning with the BJP to protect its interests.
