Latest news with #AmarnathRamakrishna
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Keeladi and the contesting of Indian history
We are living in great times with the greatest of crafty wielders with purvey on politics and power of judging truths. We are passing through one of the most interesting moments of time in terms of redefining the history and civilisation with the dominant narrative of culture, society, science and industrial activities in the Indian subcontinent. The penultimate journey of time and destiny of truth, buried under, could not have surfaced despite the heat and dust of politics and chosen the contestants to this cultural and historical narrative, in the form of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu, the imagined or constructed political-ideological inheritors of the cultural-historical legacy of Vedic period and the Dravidian hypothesis of the history of Indian subcontinent. Keeladi — should it receive its due — could shake the foundations of the north-centric narrative and understanding of the south simply as inheritors of history, culture, science, technology and civilisation from the north. The findings at the 100-acre site located in Keeladi, a village 12 km distance from Madurai in Tamil Nadu are not only exceptional but also compelling in terms of evidence that can offer rare insights about the flourishing urban civilisation from the south (PTI) The findings at the 100-acre site located in Keeladi, a village 12 km distance from Madurai in Tamil Nadu are not only exceptional but also compelling in terms of evidence that can offer rare insights about the flourishing urban civilisation from the south. The discovery of iron slag in Keeladi indicating the practice of iron smelting, further reaffirms the advanced technological capabilities of the civilisation. Sivagalai, dating 3345 BC, not only establishes the iron age of South India before the Vedic period but also challenges the Western understanding of Anatolia by the Hittites as the world's first iron age. All these developments are unsettling, not surprisingly for the BJP at the Union government in New Delhi and its ideological patron, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Nagpur. The result is the growing shadow over the integrity and functioning of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the signs of wilting of the ace national archaeological body under the heat of power to dampen down the historical, cultural and civilisational past about India – a rare southern narrative. Why? What is the bone of contention? The politics of Keeladi excavation(s) lies in the time bracket of 8th century BCE to 3rd century CE given by Amarnath Ramakrishna, the superintending archaeologist then in-charge of the Keeladi excavations until 2017. He submitted his report in 2023 and two years later, in early 2025, the ASI has asked him to revise the report focused on review of dates and with scientific AMS details. The Keeladi project survived inordinate and deliberate delays due to financial and administrative orders governing the Keeladi site and the potential impact of contamination of the samples during the phase I & II. Then comes the stunning setback to the Keeladi project with the declaration of ASI that there are no significant findings and the decision to halt further excavations, echoed by the next superintending archaeologist who replaced Amarnath Ramakrishna. It is the intervention of the Madras high court, which had asked the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archeology (TNSDA) to take over the Keeladi excavations, that not only rescued the Keeladi operations but also enabled the sustenance of further excavations on going at the Keeladi site up to phase X until 2024 and corroborate with the developments in Sivagalai (since 2019) and Adichanallur (2004) to suggest that the south had entered the Iron Age over 2000 years before north India. Above all, reaffirming that there are many truths about what we consider as Indian civilisation by revealing Indus Valley Civilisation and Vaigai River Civilisation are not only too close to be isolated by time and space and could even be contemporary to each other. Tamili (Tamil-Brahmi) inscribed potsherds, traces of trade links with the north (including foreign territories like Afghanistan and Rome) and signs of advanced urban life were found. One of the most significant developments following the Keeladi excavations is the pushing back of the Sangam era. Keeladi was a literate and urban civilisation with established industrial, trade and commercial activities revealing the characteristics of a highly organised society. In the process tumbling the centuries old prejudicial construction and popular imagination of south simply as an inheritor and the north as source of everything from culture, science, technology, urbanisation and the quintessence of the Indian knowledge systems. It is one thing to shower accolades or punish Amarnath Ramakrishna in the ways of subsequent transfers and postings everywhere except Keeladi. He has refused to change the dateline and prepared to defend his report whenever the situation demands with an appropriate scope and opportunities even within the department. It is another thing to acknowledge that Keeladi excavations have moved on to a stage that neither the ASI nor the Union government can halt the excavations and withhold the findings from the public due to the mission of the Tamil Nadu government and the stake holding people of Tamil Nadu. This is the game changer because of the scientific orientation of the TNSDA combined with the political determination of the Stalin-led DMK government in Tamil Nadu. It is highly relevant to note here that three laboratories, using – Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) – dated the iron implements from Sivagalai between 2427 BC and 3345 BC. Six carbon samples from Keeladi tested using AMS technique at Beta Lab, Florida, USA were dated between 580 BC and 300 BC. The Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow and Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad were engaged in using the OSL method. The scientific analysis and the credibility of these laboratories are highly significant to this discussion and further debate on this subject. All these developments in Keeladi, Sivagalai and Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu indicate the enormous potential to review our own biases and prejudices in the construction of history and civilization in India. The ASI and the Centre require to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the Indian culture, history and civilisational sources than being restrictive within a set of geographical-political-ideological premises. More importantly, the Centre should acknowledge and recognise the role and functions of TNSDA which is governed by the Tamil Nadu Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act,1966 created by the assent of the President of India. The complementing energy and resources of the institutions like ASI and TNSDA should be renewed rather than being pitted against each other. The Tamil Nadu government should broaden the basis of its vision and extend the methodology to other southern states as a way of extending links with the other Iron Age findings in states like Karnataka and Telengana in order to overcome the historical neglect and cultural prejudice in writing/presenting the history and civilisation of India. Politics is intrinsic to science, technology, culture, society and history. It is too naïve to imagine science and history without politics. It is relevant to recall here Pericles, a Greek statesman associated with the ushering in of Athenian Golden Age and one of the greatest orators in history who maintained that 'Just because you do not take interest in politics does not mean politics won't take an interest in you'. ( Manivannan is a scholar-social activist in areas of education, human rights and sustainable development through an initiative 'Multiversity.')
Time of India
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
AIADMK will back govt stand on Keeladi report: EPS
Sivaganga/Ramanathapuram: AIADMK will support the Tamil Nadu govt's stand on ASI official Amarnath Ramakrishna's report on the Keeladi excavation findings, party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has said. He told reporters after visiting the Keeladi museum in Sivaganga district on Wednesday morning that the first phase of archaeological excavations in Keeladi commenced in 2014 when AIADMK was in power. Thousands of artefacts were unearthed during various phases of excavation. It was AIADMK which allocated funds for establishing the on-site museum when late leader J Jayalalithaa was chief minister. In 2018, six samples from Keeladi were sent to a lab in Florida, USA, which confirmed that the Keeladi civilisation dated to the 6th Century BCE. "I cannot comment on the matter pertaining to publishing the Keeladi excavation report since we do not know about the details of the clarification sought by the Centre. However, we (AIADMK) would support the state govt's stand on this matter," he said. Earlier, Palaniswami visited the house of B Ajith Kumar, who died of custodial torture in Thiruppuvanam, and interacted with his mother and brother. He told reporters that the law and order situation in the state is deteriorating. He suspects that the policemen acted in a brutal manner due to external pressure. It was only after protests by the people and AIADMK functionaries that the govt transferred the case to CBI, he said. On behalf of AIADMK, a cheque of Rs5 lakh would be handed over to the family of Ajith Kumar, he added. Later in the evening, Palaniswami continued his 'Makkalai Kappom, Thamizhagathai Meetpom' campaign in Manamadurai in Sivaganga district, and Paramakudi and Thiruvadanai in Ramanathapuram district. At Manamadurai, Palaniswami questioned DMK MP Kanimozhi's claim in parliament that Pahalgam terrorist attack could have been averted if we had proper intelligence. "In 1998, when late M Karunanidhi was chief minister, there were serial bomb blasts in Coimbatore. Was it an intelligence failure," he asked. EPS said the central govt gave a befitting reply through Operation Sindoor. In Paramakudi, Palaniswami said Tamil Nadu was the number one state in education under AIADMK. At present, posts of principals are vacant in 96 arts and science colleges, and those of deans and professors in govt medical college hospitals, he added.
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Keeladi excavation: ASI director defends findings; 'Would be criminal to change them'
Amarnath Ramakrishna, who led the Keeladi excavation, says he will not change the narrative of the findings. Photo by K Antony Xavier In the wake of a request to 'make corrections' and change the period of the Keeladi civilisation in his 982-page report, ASI director ( National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities launched in 2007) Amarnath Ramakrishna came down hard on the Centre and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), saying it would be 'criminal' to do so. 'No alteration is ever done once a report is handed in; only proofreading takes place. If a photograph is missing and if any illustration needs to be added, that can be done. Nothing more,' said 51-year-old Amarnath, who has devoted 25 years of his life to archaeology, in an interview with Jaya Menon . Excerpts: You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai Was the Centre's move in replacing you as ASI director (antiquity) with ASI director (exploration & excavation) Hemasagar A Naik justified? No comment. They assigned me to NMMA, and I am working there. Is there a deliberate attempt to dilute the antiquity of Keeladi findings? That is what they seem to be doing. India has a plural culture. We must enlighten people about it. They always talk about the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), the Vedic Civilisation (that followed the decline of the IVC), Chandragupta Maurya (the first emperor of the Mauryan Empire) and Harshavardhana (who ruled the Pushyabhuti dynasty). Why are you not seeing other parts of the country? There was the Sangam culture here. To date, we have not determined the age of the Sangam period. We simply say 300BCE to 300CE. There is no scientific evidence to confirm this. It is based on literary sources, now taking the form of archaeological material. I hope to have the opportunity to re-investigate the Sangam dates using archaeological material. ASI has asked retired archaeologist P S Sriraman to submit his report on the third phase of Keeladi excavations. This, when Sriraman said there are no significant findings. That is his view. I say it is a potential site. After his statement, following the Madras high court order, the state conducted excavations and found so much. How can a person with no background on the site say there is nothing? I have understood the site, explored it, assessed the Vaigai River and identified Keeladi as a potential site. That is why I was begging the Centre to allow me to also study the burial site at Kondagai, which is just 700m away. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like [속보]'한 달만에 5cm 성장!?' 2개월치 무료증정 압도적 키성장 1위! 아이클타임 더 알아보기 Undo It would have helped compare the burial and habitation sites. Hemasagar Naik asked you to make 'corrections' in your draft report on Keeladi excavations. I am the excavator, I fixed the period, I gave the stratigraphical results (the study of rock layers), cultural sequence, and cultural material deposits with accelerator mass spectrometry dates. I have corroborated and justified findings in my report. If the narrative is to be changed, they must do a re-excavation. Let's see what dates they get. Arundati Banerjee, a retired superintending archaeologist who worked for 25 years in the publication section of the ASI, told me that this is the first time an excavator has been asked to make corrections. What is the counter-evidence they have? If they are countering it, they must redo the excavation and clarify their findings, like a postmortem. Like Ayodhya (excavations), form a committee — state, central, international, judiciary — and excavate. They have not raised queries about my reply. You submitted a strong reply to corroborate that your Keeladi findings date from 800BCE to 500BCE. I agreed to only minor spelling corrections and the nomenclature given in the periodisation. I considered changing only these – early, matured and late phases. But I refuse to change the dates. Keeladi has been dated as per stratigraphical sequence observed during the excavation and reconstructed based on drawings. My report has all the documentary evidence. If I change the concept, I become a criminal. If you ask for a change in first-hand information, you are spoiling the moral value. I do not accept that. It is not a hypothesis. The dating was based on the excavations. How can I tamper with it? Naik refutes the dating of Keeladi and believes it must be dated to a period before 300BCE. The Keeladi habitation is the first time ASI excavated a site properly. We have dated the site based on its stratigraphy. We studied a 6m deposit, of which the lowest 1.5m was dated between 800BCE and 500 BCE. There are no indications of brick structures in this layer, only thatched roof huts. We also found neolithic celts and microlithic tools in this layer. But I am not saying this is a neolithic or microlithic period. I am saying an ancient culture existed here, dating between 800 BCE and 500 BCE. Then it slowly developed into a full-fledged urban settlement from 500 BCE to the end of the first century CE, when construction of brick buildings, ring wells, and drainage systems began. Union culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said the Keeladi report was neither scientifically sound nor technically corroborated. Ask him to read the report first. How did your Keeladi journey begin? Our objective was to try to identify habitation sites in Tamil Nadu. I initiated the Vaigai River exploration project in 2013-14 when I was ASI superintending archaeologist (excavation branch) in Bengaluru. Until then, I had never supervised riverine-based archaeological exploration in the south. When I was studying at the Institute of Archaeology, I was involved in an excavation at Rakhigarhi, a Harappan-era site in Haryana. We discovered a burial site. In 2014, they managed to extract the DNA from skeletons, which provided evidence of the genetic make-up of inhabitants who lived more than 4,600 years ago. What was unique about the Keeladi findings? In 2013-14, we explored Keeladi and identified 293 sites on both the left and right banks of the Vaigai, which flows through Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Sivaganga, and Ramanathapuram. When we found the megalithic burial sites, we began to question who had created them, and that is how we arrived at Kondagai, 700m from Keeladi. I requested the third-season excavation at Kondagai but was not granted permission. For the Indus Valley excavation, roughly 13,000sqkm was excavated and more than 10,000 sites discovered. The Indus civilisation is not concentrated only in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Many excavations were conducted in Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Gujarat, as well as in Pakistan and Afghanistan. That is why we are saying it is a vast civilisation. We can do the same here. Does the 3D facial reconstruction of two men from the sixth century BCE, based on skulls found at the Kondagai burial site, corroborate your findings? Those who lived in Keeladi were buried in Kondagai.
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Criminal, immoral to make changes in Keeladi report, says ASI official
File photo: ASI director Amarnath Ramakrishna CHENNAI: ASI director (National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities) Amarnath Ramakrishna was highly critical of the Centre and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for seeking changes in his 982-page Keeladi excavation report. In an interview to TOI, Ramakrishna, who retained NMMA but was relieved of "Antiquity", said, "I can proof-read and correct spelling errors, but not the concept. If I change the concept, I become a criminal. If you ask for change in first-hand information, you are spoiling the moral value." On Union culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat 's remark that the Keeladi report was neither scientifically sound nor technically corroborated, Ramakrishnaurged him to read the report first. To a question on whether there was an attempt to dilute the ancientness of Keeladi civilisation, Ramakrishna said, "They seem to be doing so." He said, "India has a plural culture. We have to enlighten people about it. They always talk about Indus Valley Civilisation, Vedic Civilisation, Maurya and Harshavardhana dynasties. Why are you not seeing other parts of the country?" Sangam existed here, said Ramakrishna. "Till date, we have not determined the age of the Sangam period." On ASI asking retired archaeologist P S Sriraman to submit his report on the third phase of excavation at Keeladi, Ramakrishna said, "How can a person without any background of the site simply say there is nothing?" Sriraman had submitted a report saying there were no significant findings during the third phase of excavations.
The Print
02-07-2025
- General
- The Print
Journey of excavator Amarnath Ramakrishna who led Keezhadi dig & has seen 12 transfers in 21 yrs
K. Amarnath Ramakrishna submitted the report on the first two phases of the Keezhadi excavation in 2023. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) rejected his report and asked him to revise the dates of his findings, but he stood by his conclusions and wrote to the ASI that no corrections were necessary. Chennai: When archaeologist K. Amarnath Ramakrishna began excavating a coconut farm in Keezhadi—a quiet Tamil Nadu village—in 2014, little did he realise that his discovery of an urban civilisation dating back to at least the 8th century BCE wouldn't just challenge history but also his career with five transfers in eight years. Indologist R. Balakrishnan, a retired IAS and chairman of the International Institute of Tamil Studies, said the findings of the Keezhadi excavations were revolutionary because they complemented Sangam literature. 'Ramakrishna's findings bolstered the narrative of an independent, sophisticated Tamil civilisation, distinct from the Vedic-centric history. There were no religious symbols found at the excavation site, proving what was told in Sangam literature,' Balakrishnan told ThePrint. Amarnath Ramakrishna's transfer in 2023 wasn't his first or last. His groundbreaking work has often been accompanied by controversy, with his career at the ASI marked by 12 transfers in 21 years. He began in 2004 as an assistant archaeologist at Kondapur Museum in Andhra Pradesh. The roots of the latest controversy go back to 2013-14, when Ramakrishna began surveying 293 potential sites in and around Madurai for excavation. Among them, Keezhadi, a 100-acre coconut grove in Palichanthai Thidal in Sivagangai district, stood out—and excavations began there in 2014. In the first two phases between 2014-15 and 2015-16, the team unearthed over 7,500 artefacts, including brick structures, drainage systems, wells, pottery, beads and Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions. But in 2017, as Keezhadi's significance was becoming undeniable, Ramakrishna was abruptly transferred to the Guwahati Circle in Assam while he was waiting for funds to begin the third phase of excavations at Keezhadi. Soon after Ramakrishna's transfer in 2017, the ASI appointed P.S. Sriraman as Superintending Archaeologist for the third phase of the excavation. In October 2017, on completing the third phase, Sriraman said that Keezhadi excavations had not yielded any significant discoveries—sparking controversy as his opinion sharply contradicted Ramakrishna's earlier findings. Again in 2019, Amarnath Ramakrishna was transferred to Goa as superintending archaeologist. He was back in Tamil Nadu as superintending archaeologist of the Chennai circle in 2021, when he wrote the Keezhadi report. In the 982-page report, submitted by Ramakrishna in January 2023, he classified Keezhadi into three periods: Pre-Early Historic (8th century BCE to 5th century BCE), Mature Early Historic (5th century BCE to 1st century BCE), and Post-Early Historic (1st century BCE to 3rd century CE). He submitted the report in January 2023 and was transferred to Delhi as Director (Archaeology) after that. One and a half years later, in September 2024, Amarnath Ramakrishna was moved again, this time as Director (Antiquity) of the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA) at the ASI headquarters in Delhi. Within three months, Ramakrishna was shifted again to the role of director of excavation and exploration at the ASI headquarters. Another three months later, he was brought back to his previous post at the ASI headquarters in Delhi. On 17 June, Amarnath Ramakrishna was transferred yet again to the role of director of NMMA at Noida, marking his third transfer in nine months and twelfth transfer overall. This was described as a 'punishment posting' for allegedly refusing to change the dates in his Keezhadi report. 'The post he was transferred to was almost defunct for years. If this is not a punishment post, what else is?' said one of Ramakrishna's colleagues. But an ASI spokesperson told ThePrint that all his moves were routine administrative transfers and had nothing to do with Keezhadi. Archaeologists who worked with Amarnath Ramakrishna at Keezhadi felt that more details might have been unearthed had he been allowed to lead the third phase of excavations. 'In the first two phases, excavation was done at the habitation site. But to substantiate and to get more clarity on whatever was found in the habitation site, excavations need to be done in a burial site close to it. Ramakrishna had sought permission to excavate a burial site close to it, and that's when the transfer order came,' a source at the ASI told ThePrint. Also Read: Sun TV Network, Maran brothers & an old feud. How Dayanidhi-Kalanithi clash was waiting to spill over Eye for detail Archaeologists, who worked with Amarnath Ramakrishna at Keezhadi, recalled that he was a man with an eye for detail who looked for concrete scientific evidence before arriving at a conclusion. 'When we began the Keezhadi excavation, we seriously did not have any expectations, except that it was one of the largest human habitation sites that we were digging in Tamil Nadu. He was very keen on noting down everything that he saw at the site and everything that we excavated from day one,' said archaeologist Vasanth, who worked with Amarnath Ramakrishna during the Keezhadi excavation. Vasanth also told ThePrint that Ramakrishna was an exceptional officer who did not give preferences to anyone based on seniority. 'He listens to everybody's ideas irrespective of their age and experience.' A Madras University archaeology student, now working with the archaeology department, said he was lucky to do an internship at Keezhadi with Amarnath Ramakrishna. 'Because most of my seniors and even my colleagues who did internships were not even taken anywhere close to the excavation trenches. Despite being at the excavation site, they largely got only theoretical experience,' said the achaeologist, who did his internship with Ramakrishna between 2015 and 2017. 'But Ramakrishna sir took us into the trenches and explained how each quadrant is dug and how they pick the samples and what each one of them means,' he added. Son of a Tamil Scholar, in search of ancient traces Amarnath Ramakrishna, who belongs to Tamil Nadu's Palani in Dindigul district, is the son of an academic couple, R. Krishnamoorthy and G.S. Dinamani. Krishnamoorthy retired as professor of zoology at Presidency College in Chennai and the late Dinamani worked as a professor of Tamil at Arulmigu Palaniandavar Women's College. 'Beginning from elementary education to an in Ancient History and Archaeology, he was a product of Tamil Nadu's education system,' recalls a college mate and archaeologist with the state government. Amarnath Ramakrishna's friends and classmates credited their professor, K.V. Raman, for inspiring him to take archaeology seriously. 'He has always said that K.V. Raman sir was his inspiration. It was KV sir who asked Ramakrishna to pursue a two-year PG Diploma in Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology run by the Archaeological Survey of India,' the collegemate told ThePrint. He also questioned how the methods and procedures taught at ASI's institute could be wrong. 'He did not learn archaeology anywhere else. How can a person who studied at the ASI's institute give a report without substantial evidence stipulated by the ASI?' (Edited by Sugita Katyal) Also Read: 5 Tamil Nadu cops arrested for custodial death of temple guard accused of theft. Brother alleges torture
