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The Hindu
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Watch: PM Modi meets all-party delegation, Congress decides to redo caste survey in Karnataka, Austria declares national mourning after deadly shooting & more
Here are the top headlines of the day. PM Modi meets members of all-party delegations Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted members of the various delegations who travelled to various countries to highlight India's stand against Pakistan-linked terrorism following Operation Sindoor today. The delegation members talked about their meetings in different nations. Four delegations were led by MPs of the ruling alliance, while three were led by opposition MPs. BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijyant Panda, Congress' Shashi Tharoor, JD(U)'s Sanjay Jha, Shiv Sena's Shrikant Shinde, DMK's Kanimozhi, and NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule led respective delegations to different parts of the world. The government sent these multi-party delegations to portray a message of national unity in the fight against terrorism, with the likes of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi joining the ruling alliance members in championing the Indian cause abroad. Congress decides to re-enumerate caste data in Karnataka to address concerns The Congress top brass has decided to hold re-enumeration of caste data in Karnataka to address concerns of some communities who complained of being left out of the survey that was conducted 10 years ago. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting of the party's leaders. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leader Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar were among those present at the meeting. Further scientific studies needed to validate Keeladi excavation findings: Union Culture Minister Commenting on a recent controversy in which the ASI asked an archaeologist to resubmit his report on the Keezhadi excavation site, Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has said that the reports are not technically well supported. Further scientific studies are required to validate the findings, he said. The Minister also said, 'Let archaeologists, historians, and technical experts discuss this, instead of politicians.' The report was submitted to the ASI by archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna, who headed two phases of excavations and unearthed an ancient civilisation in Keeladi in Sivaganga. The ASI asked Ramakrishna to resubmit his report after making corrections to make it 'more authentic' and for taking further action. Authorities issue oil spill advisory as fire continue to rock Singapore-flagged ship Authorities issued an oil spill advisory as a fire on a Singapore-flagged vessel off the Kerala coast continued unabated. So far, 18 crew members were recovered from MV Wan Hai 503 and brought to Mangaluru late on Monday, and four are unaccounted for. The vessel caught fire on Monday, and more than 24 hours later, flames were reported from the mid-ship area and container bay just ahead of the accommodation block, Indian Coast Guard officials said. The Indian Coast Guard is carrying out firefighting and boundary cooling operations at sea to prevent the flames from spreading further. Meanwhile, former Shipping Secretary K. Mohandas, told the main challenge involved in salvaging the ship and the dangerous cargo onboard was the report of the ship listing around 10-15 degrees on one side. A senior Union Shipping Ministry source told The Hindu that the future of the ship would be known only after dousing the fire. As per the cargo manifest released by the Kerala government, 157 containers carry highly dangerous goods. A former student opens fire at an Austrian school, killing 9 before taking his own life A former student opened fire at a school in Graz, Austria's second-biggest city, killing nine people and wounding at least 12 others before taking his own life, authorities said. There was no immediate information on the motive of the 21-year-old man, who had no previous police record. He used two weapons, which he was believed to have owned legally, police said. Police believe he acted alone. His name wasn't released. 'Today is a dark day in the history of our country,' Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker told reporters in Graz, a city of about 3,00,000 people in southeastern Austria. He called it 'a national tragedy that shocks us deeply' and said there would be three days of national mourning. A national minute of silence is to be held on Wednesday morning in memory of the victims. Credits Producer: V. Nivedita
The Hindu
29-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
ASI dismisses claim of disinterest in publishing Keeladi report as ‘figment of imagination'
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Thursday (May 29, 2025) dismissed as a 'figment of imagination' the allegation that it is disinterested in publishing the report on the Keeladi excavation. It called such claims misleading and an attempt to malign the department. Recently, the ASI had asked archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna, who unearthed an ancient civilisation in Keeladi in Sivaganga district, to resubmit his report about the excavation after making necessary corrections for taking further action. However, Mr. Ramakrishna defended his conclusions and refused to revise the findings. In a statement released through the Press Information Bureau, the ASI said it regularly publishes reports on excavated sites and places great emphasis on this aspect, since much time, energy, and money are invested in every excavation. Without publication, the basic purpose of the excavation remains unfulfilled. After the submission of reports by excavators, they are sent to subject experts for vetting. Various alterations, as suggested by the subject experts, are carried out by the excavators and resubmitted finally for publication. The reports are eventually published as Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India (MASI). 'The same procedure was adopted in case of the Keeladi report, wherein the report was sent for vetting to experts. Accordingly, the excavator of Keeladi was communicated the suggestions of the experts for making necessary corrections in the draft report submitted by him, but he did not carry out the corrections till date,' the ASI said. 'The story being circulated in a part of the media is misleading and untrue. The Director General and the ASI officials understand the importance of an excavated site, but all reports need proper vetting, editing, proofreading, and designing before being sent for publication. That the ASI is uninterested in publication of the Keeladi report is a figment of imagination, which aims purposefully to paint the department in bad colours,' it added.
New Indian Express
25-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
‘Keezhadi time-period evaluated as per procedures': Archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna
CHENNAI: Two days after the ASI requested him to rework his Keezhadi Excavation Report (2014-15 and 2015-16) to make it 'more authentic', archaeologist K Amarnath Ramakrishna has defended his 982-page report, saying that the findings during the first two excavations including the time period of the artefacts found were based on facts, supported by documentary evidence. Sources said Amarnath, in his response to the ASI, said the request of the director of Exploration and Excavation of ASI for further examination of sequence 'is against the well-reasoned conclusive finding of the excavator (Amarnath) of the site'. Amarnath pointed out that the time period has been evaluated according to established procedures. Also, the period of the site was reconstructed as per the stratigraphical sequence, cultural deposit available with material culture and with the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry-based dating of artefacts found during the excavation. Stating that the absence of 'layer numbering' mentioned in the letter will be done if it is found missing, Amarnathpointed out all relevant maps, plates and drawings were given in HD format in soft copy as well as in hard copy to the ASI headquarters at the time of submission of the report. Meanwhile, VCK general secretary and MP, D Ravikumar urged director general of ASI, to release the Keeladi excavation report without any delay.
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
ASI asks archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna to rewrite his report on Keezhadi excavations
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has asked archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna, who unearthed an ancient civilisation in Keezhadi near Madurai, to resubmit his report about the excavation after making necessary corrections for taking further action. A letter from the ASI said two experts had suggested corrections in the report submitted by Mr. Ramakrishna, who was in charge of the excavation, to make it 'more authentic.' Mr. Ramakrishna, who conducted extensive digging that began in 2014, studied the ancientness of the objects through Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) and prepared a 982-page report. Carbon dating of charcoal found at the Keezhadi site in February 2017 established that the settlement there belonged to 200 BC. Several artefacts discovered during the excavation pointed to the existence of an urban civilisation in Tamil Nadu since the Sangam Age. Mr. Ramakrishna sent it to the Director General of ASI on January 30, 2023. Earlier, before he could send his report, Mr. Ramakrishna was transferred to Assam in 2017 and now, he is working as Director, Antiquities. After more than two years since the report was submitted, the ASI has asked him to rewrite his report. According to the ASI, three periods require proper nomenclature or re-orientation, and the time bracket of 8th century BCE to 5th century BCE for Period I requires concrete justification. 'The other two periods also must be determined based on scientific AMS dates and the material recovered with stratigraphical details. The date of the earliest period, in the present state of our knowledge, appears to be very early. It can be, at the maximum, somewhere in pre-300 BCE,' said the ASI. It had informed Mr. Ramakrishna that only mentioning depth for the available scientific dates was not enough; the layer number should also be marked for comparative consistency analysis. 'The submitted maps may be replaced with better ones; the village map lacks clarity, some plates are missing; plan, contour map, stratigraphy drawing, drawings are missing; and a plan/map giving the location of the trenches/cuttings is required,' according to the letter from the ASI to Mr. Ramakrishna. 'Unprecedented decision' When his opinion was sought, former IAS officer R. Balakrishnan, who authored the book Journey of a Civilisation: Indus to Vaigai, said the decision of the ASI seemed to be 'unprecedented' and obviously a result of the 'pressure of history.' 'Not digging adequately is considered a tragedy, not letting the reports come out is a greater tragedy. It is simply pathetic,' he said. Reiterating that history was not a frozen snow, but a flowing river, Mr. Balakrishnan, formerly Additional Chief Secretary of Odisha, said the treatment of southern archaeology by the ASI has consistently been far from satisfactory. 'We have been seeing a clear bias. In a multicultural country like India, history requires careful and responsible handling,' he said. He noted that no one touched Adichanallur for 100 years after Alexander Rea, the British archaeologist. 'The Adichanallur report by T. Sathyamoorthy did not see the light of day for 15 years until the intervention of the court. Now, the same thing has happened to Keezhadi. The delay in publishing the reports of Mr. Sathyamoorthy and Mr. Ramakrishna is a cause of concern,' he said.
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
ASI asks Amarnath Ramakrishna to rewrite his report on Keezhadi excavations
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has asked archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna, who unearthed an ancient civilisation in Keezhadi near Madurai, to resubmit his report about the excavation after making necessary corrections for taking further action. A letter from the ASI said two experts had suggested corrections in the report submitted by Mr. Ramakrishna, who was in charge of the excavation, to make it 'more authentic.' Mr. Ramakrishna, who conducted extensive digging that began in 2014, studied the ancientness of the objects through Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) and prepared a 982-page report. Carbon dating of charcoal found at the Keezhadi site in February 2017 established that the settlement there belonged to 200 BC. Several artefacts discovered during the excavation pointed to the existence of an urban civilisation in Tamil Nadu since the Sangam Age. Mr. Ramakrishna sent it to the Director General of ASI on January 30, 2023. Earlier, before he could send his report, Mr. Ramakrishna was transferred to Assam in 2017 and now, he is working as Director, Antiquities. After more than two years since the report was submitted, the ASI has asked him to rewrite his report. According to the ASI, three periods require proper nomenclature or re-orientation, and the time bracket of 8th century BCE to 5th century BCE for Period I requires concrete justification. 'The other two periods also must be determined based on scientific AMS dates and the material recovered with stratigraphical details. The date of the earliest period, in the present state of our knowledge, appears to be very early. It can be, at the maximum, somewhere in pre-300 BCE,' said the ASI. It had informed Mr. Ramakrishna that only mentioning depth for the available scientific dates was not enough; the layer number should also be marked for comparative consistency analysis. 'The submitted maps may be replaced with better ones; the village map lacks clarity, some plates are missing; plan, contour map, stratigraphy drawing, drawings are missing; and a plan/map giving the location of the trenches/cuttings is required,' according to the letter from the ASI to Mr. Ramakrishna. 'Unprecedented decision' When his opinion was sought, former IAS officer R. Balakrishnan, who authored the book Journey of a Civilisation: Indus to Vaigai, said the decision of the ASI seemed to be 'unprecedented' and obviously a result of the 'pressure of history.' 'Not digging adequately is considered a tragedy, not letting the reports come out is a greater tragedy. It is simply pathetic,' he said. Reiterating that history was not a frozen snow, but a flowing river, Mr. Balakrishnan, formerly Additional Chief Secretary of Odisha, said the treatment of southern archaeology by the ASI has consistently been far from satisfactory. 'We have been seeing a clear bias. In a multicultural country like India, history requires careful and responsible handling,' he said. He noted that no one touched Adichanallur for 100 years after Alexander Rea, the British archaeologist. 'The Adichanallur report by T. Sathyamoorthy did not see the light of day for 15 years until the intervention of the court. Now, the same thing has happened to Keezhadi. The delay in publishing the reports of Mr. Sathyamoorthy and Mr. Ramakrishna is a cause of concern,' he said.
