IN a bid to erase the Hindu heritage of Kerala, the erstwhile CPM regime, with the help of some left historians, tried to re-write Kerala history. The excavation at the Muziris site in Kodungallur in the Thrissur-Kochi district of Kerala is at the centre of the new controversy.
Muziripatanam or Patanam in Kodungallur was a flourishing port, which finds mention in the Sangam Age literature of Manimekalai and Silapadigaram. It was the seat of Chera Kings and linked to the Thiruvanchikulam Shiva Temple.
The left conspiracy, spear-headed by KN Panikker and PJ Cherian of Kerala Council of Historic Research, was to show-case, Muziris, as a centre of composite culture consisting of Jews, Dutch, Portughese, Muslims and Babylonians, Hindus only represented by Vanvasis. Although a huge quantity of excavations, richly show-casing the Hindu life were found, the left is conspiring to shift the project from Kodungallur to Paravaur. Also Rs 220 crore are being spent on the heritage project at Paravur by state and Centre, projecting it falsely as Patanam, whereas Kodungallur is the real Patanam/Muziris.
The Muziris Heritage Preservation Forum organised a meet in Kochi, recently on this issue, to educate the nation of the dangerous consequences.
Speaking at the Seminar ‘Muziris heritage and Pattanam excavations—a critical review’, Dr R Nagaswamy, former Director of Archaeology, Tamil Nadu and Ex Vice-Chancellor of Kanchipuram University, said it is very safe to assume that Muziri Pattanam or Muziris was is Kodungallur, since the river joins the sea there. Also many scholars have written that a part of Kodungallur was Muziris.
“Kodungallur should be deeply excavated. Excavations at Paravur and Kodungallur should be compared before arriving at conclusions”
Dr Nagaswamy criticised the efforts made by the church-left gang up to link the Muziris excavations with the visit of St. Thomas. “While looking at the literature on the life of St. Thomas, it is nowhere mentioned that he visited India. It is only a myth propounded by vested interests, who now want to link Muziris with St. Thomas”. “The Muziris must have been located at Kodungallur and not Paravur, since in ancient times, major ports were situated at river mouths. Kodungallur is a place where river opens into sea, unlike Paravur.”
“The church-left lobby wants to shift the Muziris from Kodungallur to Pattanam Paravur, since there is a myth that St. Thomas landed at Pattanam”.
“Myths create confusion and distort history. There is no proof of St. Thomas having come to India. There is no proof that Pattanam Paravur is connected to Muziris. The Archaeological materials found at Pattanam cannot be linked to Muziris, since the same materials were found in eastern and western coasts of India,” he concluded.
Former Archaeology Director of Kerala, Shri T Sathyamoorthy presided. A book Gameplan of Muziris Conspiracy was also released on the occasion.
With this seminar, the left-church conspiracy to shift Muziris from Kodungallur to Paravur, with the evil intention of legitimising the myth of St Thomas’s visit to Paravur, has been barely exposed!
S Chandrasekhar
