Archaeological findings play a major role in understanding the history of civilisation. However, when such findings are distorted to push a predetermined agenda, they inevitably influence the discourse of history. A similar situation is once again unfolding in Tamil Nadu with the Keezhadi excavations, where the Central government is seeking further details for scientific validation, while the DMK government remains adamant in refusing to provide them, instead politicising the discoveries to suit its agenda of disconnecting from the region’s ancient roots.
The fresh controversy was triggered on June 10, when Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in Chennai, said, “The 982-page report on Keezhadi covering two phases of excavation submitted to the ASI by its superintending archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna is not technically well-supported and requires more data. Much remains to be done before recognition and accreditation are given to the findings presented. Let them come up with more results, more data, evidence, and proof. One finding can’t change the discourse of history.”
The Union Minister also accused some people in higher positions of trying to flare up regional sentiments, cautioning that, “Research must be completed on all parameters, and only then should conclusions be drawn. This is a subject to be decided by archaeologists with sound technical expertise, not by politicians.”
மாண்புமிகு தமிழக முதல்வர் ஸ்டாலின் அவர்களே, நாங்கள் எந்த அறிக்கையையும் வெளியிட சிறிதும் தயங்கவில்லை. உண்மையில், இதுபோன்ற ஆராய்ச்சிகள், அறிவியல் பூர்வமாக நிரூபிக்கப்பட்டால், நாங்களும் தங்களுடன் சேர்ந்து பெருமைகொள்வோம். ஆனால் இன்றைய அறிவியல் உலகின்ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளலுக்கு, எங்களுக்கு…
— Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (@gssjodhpur) June 11, 2025
The central government has put the report on hold, citing the need for more scientific validation of Keezhadi’s antiquity.
Reacting to this, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, on June 12, said: “Even when confronted with carbon-dated artefacts and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) reports from international laboratories on the Keezhadi excavations, they continue to demand more proof… On the contrary, despite strong opposition from respected historians and archaeologists, the BJP continues to promote the mythical Sarasvati civilisation.
He further said, “They do so without credible evidence, while dismissing the rigorously proven antiquity of Tamil culture. The BJP-RSS ecosystem recoils when it comes to Keezhadi and the enduring truth of Tamil heritage — not because evidence is lacking, but because the truth does not serve their script. We fought for centuries to unearth our history. They fight every day to erase it. The world is watching. So is time.”
Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, in a post on X, said: “They initially said there was nothing in Keezhadi. They transferred the official and denied funding. Now they have kept the report in cold storage, saying it needs more proof. This is their custom every time to reject reports on Tamil history, and their reasoning differs each time.”
With DMK’s instigation, the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers’ Association (TNPWA), along with DYFI and SFI, held a demonstration in Madurai on June 11. They demanded the Chief Minister’s direct intervention against the Central government’s move to review the Keezhadi excavation findings. The President of TNPWA, Madukkur Ramalingam, told the media: “We urge the CM himself to step in, lead a state-wide movement, and demand recognition for the report submitted by Amarnath Ramakrishna.”
Another speaker said: “The BJP government is spending crores to trace the mythical Sarasvati river but refuses to even acknowledge Keezhadi’s findings, which are backed by strong scientific evidence.”
On May 21, the ASI asked him to correct the report to make it more authentic. He replied that the period of Keezhadi excavation was evaluated according to established archaeological excavation procedures.
The DMK and its allies accused the Centre of attempting to suppress evidence that might challenge the primacy of Vedic civilisation in India’s historical narrative.
Organiser had earlier reported on these excavation findings and reproduced some key points. Well-known archaeologist Dr. B.S. Harishankar presented a scientific study paper titled “Global Interventions in Keezhadi Excavations”, published in Kesari Weekly. His paper opened a Pandora’s box, shocking people in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. After extensive analysis and documentary evidence based on scientific findings, Harishankar dropped a bombshell by accusing the Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) excavation at Keezhadi of being driven by ulterior motives to fabricate history.
Breaking India forces trying to usurp Keezhadi excavations – Unholy trio of Church Priests, dubious NGO’s and DMK trying to Christianise Tamil Culture for a separatist agenda: https://t.co/oHaQEyBXrU via @eOrganiser
— Organiser Weekly (@eOrganiser) August 1, 2020
In another article titled Keezhadi: Digging to Create a Church History (dated 17 November 2019), he stated: “Keezhadi excavator K. Amarnath Ramakrishna’s links with Gaspar Raj cannot be overlooked. The enthusiasm shown by Amarnath Ramakrishna in supporting Gaspar Raj and Kanimozhi is notable. In 2016, when the ASI began a probe into the alleged unscientific approaches adopted by KCHR at Pattanam, Amarnath Ramakrishna was superintendent archaeologist of ASI, Bengaluru circle. His findings remain unknown, but he later took up the Keezhadi excavations. Possibly, he prepared a report favourable to Left and Church historians to prove the historicity of Apostle Thomas. Zealous efforts are underway to make Pattanam a satellite site of Keezhadi. R. Sivananthan, deputy director of the Tamil Nadu state department of archaeology, officially facilitated a lecture on Pattanam by its excavator P.J. Cherian at Chennai. Cherian claimed that the excavated material from Pattanam and Keezhadi are similar and hence there is a brotherhood (Pattanam, Keezhadi excavated material similar, says expert, Deccan Chronicle, 31 October 2018).” It is alleged that links exist between these NGOs and the Tamil Thesiam group, including Udhayachandran and CPM Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan.
Ever since the Keezhadi excavation findings surfaced, there have been attempts to brand it as Roman civilisation, with some Christian outfits backing the narrative. An important bureaucrat, who is said to be the de facto Chief Minister and Chief Secretary, a crypto-Christian along with some Christian organisations, a well-known pastor, an ASI official, and a DMK woman MP are alleged to be behind it.
Former CM Karunanidhi’s daughter and Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi has been accused of attempting to manipulate and interfere with the excavation.
According to reports, the US-based Beta Analytics Lab confirmed that the artefacts found at the site date back to the 6th century BCE. It stated: “Of the 29 radiocarbon samples dated by the TN state archaeology department since 2017-18, the earliest was from 580 BCE and the most recent from 200 BCE.”
Organiser reported on the nefarious designs of such elements through a series of well-documented articles over the years.
The institutes involved in the Keezhadi project include the Pune-based Agarkar Research Institute, Field Museum Chicago, IIT Gandhinagar (Glass analysis), University of Pisa, Italy (Ceramic studies), French Institute of Pondicherry (Phytolith studies), Durham College, Liverpool University, Madurai Kamaraj University, Bengaluru-based National Institute of Advanced Studies, and Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam.
It was in 1976 that a school teacher, V. Balasubramaniam, informed the archaeology department about antiquities found in the village. No excavations were carried out at that time. Only in 2013-14, during the Vaigai river valley exploration, did an ASI team find a mound at Keezhadi, 12 km southeast of Madurai in Sivaganga district. The ASI completed the excavation in 2017 and, after the court’s intervention, the state archaeology department took over. Over 13,000 artefacts have been discovered. Since then, it has become a hot topic for debates in Tamil Nadu, the rest of Bharat, and even internationally.
An expert privy to the discoveries said: “There is evidence of religious worship: in Maranadu, a Jain Tirthankara statue is being worshipped as a Shaivite saint; in Keezhadi, at the bank of a dilapidated pond near the trench dug by the Central Archaeology department, there is a partly concealed and dilapidated Nandi-like statue. There has been no effort to excavate this site. A Sasta statue with consorts, probably 1,440 years old, is still being worshipped in Keezhadi itself. Aryans lived there. They were not migrants from the North.”
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