Claudius Ptolemy will take a bow! Over the last few years, Tamil Nadu has negotiated a stream of headwinds to cover a ridiculously long distance in time, from Keezhadi near Madurai to Sivagalai in Thoothukudi. From one quaint village to another, from the once-prosperous banks of Vaigai to that of Thamirabarani, two mighty rivers that defined affluence in the southern peninsula. The Sangam Age antiquities excavated from Keezhadi pale in the vintage gleam of chisels and swords dug out from Sivagalai; new discoveries have taken us on a time travel adventure, to the Iron Age that existed here 5,300 years ago. Nothing less than a monumental leap in the face of an unrelenting archaeological conflict.
Radiocarbon dating and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of the artefacts have firmly asserted that an independent Dravidian civilisation existed in India aeons before the disputed Aryan invasion took place. Sivagalai has pushed the known boundaries of the era by over a millennium. Ample anecdotal evidence gives credence to the claim that Tamil civilisation was built over megaliths, not sinking sands. Keezhadi brought to life an ancient civilisation dating back to the sixth century BC, and opened a possible link between the scripts of the Indus Valley Civilisation and Tamil Brahmi, while Sivagalai took us back by a few millennia.
Predictably, the gatekeepers of India’s historicity remain in denial. The heartburn among naysayers is inevitable. But let us not denounce and dismiss the sanctity of burial urns. Tamil Nadu’s past is as much that of India. Going forward, if there is a fresh archaeological find anywhere in India — be it Mysore, Morena or Malampuzha — one must quickly move to own it. Let history build its own narratives!
Tamil Nadu is not waiting for an endorsement from Delhi. Glad to see the ruling state government’s plans to dig deeper to trace relics of the buried past, and proudly showcase them to the world. If the state is steeped in penury and struggling for daily bread, and yet wallowed in its past glories, it would have been an absurd spectacle. But being one of the fastest growing economies in the country and having a rising per-capita income way ahead of the national average, TN is rightfully taking a shot at its own archaeological odyssey.
The state has announced fresh excavations in eight locations while setting up an Indus Valley Cultural Gallery in Chennai. A museum of languages in Madurai and the annual world Tamil Olympiad competition are among other projects up its sleeve. It has laid special emphasis on language and civilisation, focusing on distributed growth, education, and health for all. It believes in diversity, and abhors calls for ‘one nation, one culture’.
A multitude of ancient temples and palaces, soaked in antiquity, reminds the world how intrinsically they are entwined with the civilisation.
To bring out the second edition of ‘Pride of Tamil Nadu’, The New Indian Express has been on a whirlwind tour of the state, in pursuit of testimonials. Our effort is to document each aspect of this growing state that each one of us is proud of. It is a long list spread across 64 pages.
Happy reading!