CHENNAI: After keeping it pending since January 2023, the Archaeological Survey of India has returned the 982-page Keezhadi Excavation Report (2014-15 and 2015-16) submitted by archaeologist K Amarnath Ramakrishna and asked him to resubmit the report after making certain corrections.
The communication by the Exploration and Excavation Section of the ASI said changes were suggested by two experts who vetted the report to make it “more authentic”.
It said the three periods mentioned in the report require proper nomenclature or re-orientation. It said the time bracket of 8th Century BCE to 5th Century BCE required concrete justification. It also suggested the need for replacing certain maps and for including certain contour maps, stratigraphy drawing etc.
The first two phases of excavations in Keezhadi were overseen by Ramakrishna. The findings brought a lot of focus as it provided evidence to indicate that the Sangam Age could be pushed back to 800 BCE, around 300-500 years older than what was earlier thought.
He was suddenly transferred out of Keezhadi in 2017, a move seen by the opposition parties as BJP’s efforts to suppress the historical evidence emerging from the site. The excavations were later taken up by the Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department.
Condemning the development, CPM MP from Madurai Parliamentary constituency and well-known Tamil writer Su Venkatesan, in a statement, said "BJP remains an adversary to Tamil Nadu's antiquity and the truth of Keezhadi."
He said when the issue about delay in the release of Ramakrishna’s report was raised in the parliament, it was assured that the report would be released. "As the next meeting of the Assurances Committee of Parliament is scheduled for May 27, the ASI has returned the report to Ramakrishna seeking certain corrections (as a delaying tactic)."
An archaeologist in Chennai, well-versed in Keezhadi excavations, on anonymity told TNIE that the development was unfortunate. "The report submitted by Ramakrishna is an excavator’s account with all observations based on facts. Before sending it to the press, only typos can be corrected. Unfortunately, it has been vetted by two others who were not connected with the excavations at all," he said .
R Balakrishnan, Chairman, International Institute of Tamil Studies, who authored the book - Journey of a Civilisation: Indus to Vaigai - said, “We are distressed by the fact that the report of an excavation done 10 years back is still facing roadblocks,” he said.
He pointed out that what is found in Keezhadi, Sivagalai, and Adichanallur had been predicted way back in 1935 by KN Dikshit, the then Director General of the ASI. “Hence, it (the findings) should not shock or surprise anyone. We have to be aware that we are already 90 years late. History is not just ‘useful’; it is essential, inevitable and inescapable,” Balakrishnan added.
Balakrishnan recalled that the Keezhadi archaeological site was identified by the ASI team led by Amaranth Ramakrishna after surveying 292 sites on both banks of the Vaigai River. Pointing out that the ancient Tamil Sangam corpus is the urban literature par excellence of the ancient Indian subcontinent, Balakrishnan said, “Hence, unearthing of archaeological evidence for an ancient 'urban settlement' near Madurai should not unsettle or bewilder anyone.”
History Professor V Marappan of Presidency College, who is also well-versed in Keezhadi excavations and findings, also expressed disappointment. He contended that the history experts, archaeologists and politicians from northern India have been stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the antiquity of Tamils for long.
“Just like the Indus Valley civilisation was there in the North, and the Mesopotamian civilisation originated from the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, etc. Ramakrishna's excavations and the report established that there existed a very ancient civilisation in Tamil Nadu. The present history book speaks only about the Indus Valley Civilisation as far as India is concerned. But in reality, the starting point of India's history is Tamil Nadu,” Marappan said.
Ramakrishna, who is presently Director, National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities, declined to comment.
