Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday charged that the ‘BJP-RSS ecosystem’ recoiled from the archaeological findings from Keeladi in Tamil Nadu not because evidence was lacking, but “because the truth does not serve their script.” Mr. Stalin’s comments were made a few days after Union Minister for Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat contended that the findings from Keeladi were not technically well-supported.
In a social media post, Mr. Stalin cited a newspaper report on archaeological findings from Keeladi site, which reiterated the findings published by the State Archaeology Department in its 2019 report ‘Keeladi-An Urban Settlement of Sangam Age on the Banks of River Vaigai’ on the site’s 6th Century connection based on carbon dating.
‘Ample proof’
Mr. Stalin said: “Even when confronted with carbon-dated artefacts and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) reports from international laboratories on the Keeladi excavations, they continue to demand ‘more proof’. And here is the ‘Proof’.”
“Despite strong opposition from respected historians and archaeologists, the BJP continues to promote the mythical Sarasvati Civilisation. They do so without credible evidence, while dismissing the rigorously proven antiquity of Tamil culture,” Mr. Stalin contended. He added: “We fought for centuries to unearth our history. They fight every day to erase it. The world is watching. So is time.”
Minister Thangam Thennarasu (holding the archaeology portfolio) in a social media post, too cited the newspaper report about the findings from the Keeladi site, which said that the radiocarbon dating traced the site’s origin to 580 BCE (as published in the 2019 report). “For those who point to insufficient evidence, it has been the history of the Tamils to prove them scientifically with evidence.”
He recalled that the DMK government, which had been demonstrating the antiquity of the Tamil land using archaeological evidence backed by science, had increased the allocation to archaeology from ₹5 crore to ₹7 crore.
Recently, the Archaeological Survey of India, under the Union Ministry of Culture, directed its archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna, who unearthed an ancient civilization in Keeladi, to resubmit his report about the excavation after making necessary corrections for taking further action. However, Mr. Ramakrishna stood by his report.
Published – June 13, 2025 11:51 pm IST
