Keeladi | Excavating the past

A newly laid road runs through Keeladi, a village in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu, that has now earned a significant place on India’s political and cultural map. A steady stream of visitors, particularly students, flock to the state-of-the-art museum established by the Tamil Nadu government which showcases the findings from the Keeladi excavation site.

On the other side of the village, nestled among coconut groves, workers under the supervision of archaeologists continue to excavate land once believed to have been a thriving industrial hub. Square-shaped trenches reveal remnants of furnaces containing soot and ash, confirming that Keeladi was a centre for manufacturing beads made from quartz, carnelian, glass, agate, and other materials. Carbon dating of charcoal discovered at the site in February 2017 established that the settlement dates back to 6th century BCE. These excavations offer compelling evidence that urban civilisation existed in Tamil Nadu during the Sangam age. The findings also indicate trade and cultural exchange with the Indus Valley Civilisation.

For Tamil Nadu politicians, particularly the leaders of the ruling DMK, the findings provided the much-needed grist for their political narrative. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in January this year announced a $1 million prize for experts or organisations that succeed in deciphering the script of the Indus Valley Civilisation, pointing out that 60% of the graffiti marks found in Tamil Nadu had parallels to the symbols found on Indus seals.

Long-standing divide

The findings also fuelled the long-standing Aryan-Dravidian divide, and some expressed reservations about accepting the findings from Keeladi. This was followed by the transfer of archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), who led the first two phases of the excavation, to Assam in 2017. The third phase was overseen by another archaeologist, P.S. Sriraman, who reported that there was no continuity in the brick structures. Excavations resumed only after the intervention of the Madras High Court. The Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology also took up the project and, in its report, asserted that Keeladi was once a site of urban civilisation, a claim that remains a point of contention among archaeologists.

Those who dispute the claim of an urban settlement point to sites such as Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, and others in Gujarat, which, they argue, “bear testimony to the existence of an urban civilisation,” whereas Keeladi, they contend, is just another excavation site without sufficient evidence to qualify as an urban centre.

The return of the 982-page report by Amarnath Ramakrishna of the ASI, with instructions to provide further evidence and rewrite it, stirred yet another controversy. In Tamil Nadu, this move is perceived as indicative of the BJP-led NDA government’s bias against discoveries emerging from the South.

The current dispensation at the Centre is seen as reluctant to accept anything projected as superior to the Indo-Aryan heritage. Given the Centre’s stance on Indian culture, language, and religion, the ASI’s directive to Mr. Ramakrishna and his subsequent transfer is viewed with suspicion — even if there is a genuine academic basis for it.

Mr. Ramakrishna, rather than pursuing the matter through academic channels, has joined the chorus of Tamil Nadu politicians, though many believe the Centre’s motives are clear for all to see. Mr. Ramakrishna, from the beginning, has been maintaining that there has been no evidence for religious worship.

What remains undisputed is the need for extensive excavation in Keeladi and surrounding areas. Madurai and its neighbouring regions along the banks of the Vaigai are undeniably ancient settlements. It is crucial to have excavations on the scale of those at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro to substantiate the claim of a flourishing urban civilisation in Tamil Nadu. The ASI has the responsibility of undertaking this effort with the support of the Tamil Nadu government.