Latest news with #Sriraman
Hindustan Times
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
ASI asks former archaeologist to file his 2017 Keeladi report
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has asked its retired archaeologist R Sriraman to file his report on the excavation he oversaw in Keeladi (present day Madurai district) and Kodumanal (present day Erode district) in 2017 even as the report of his predecessor Amarnath Krishna is embroiled in a controversy. ASI transferred Krishna on June 17, after MK Stalin on June 13 said that the truth from the findings in Keeladi does not serve the script of the BJP and RSS and so they are dismissing the rigorously proven antiquity of Tamil culture (PTI) Krishna's report had led to a political slugfest between the DMK and BJP. Krishna led excavations in Keeladi in the first two phases and was later transferred. After Sriraman took over in 2017, he concluded that there were no significant findings. This led to a political furore in the state and with the intervention of the Madras high court, the site was handed over from the ASI to the Tamil Nadu state department of archaeology which is entering its 11th phase of excavations at Keeladi this year. A communication between ASI and Sriraman on the report was made on July 8, those in the know of the matter said. 'He (Sriraman) retired in 2021 as superintendent archaeologist but couldn't finish the report earlier. He will complete his report at the earliest so ASI can be done with its reports for the first three years.' Sriraman had overseen excavation in Keeladi for three months and after the site he was posted across other states in India and has now retired in Chennai. A person close to Sriraman who did not wish to be named said that the controversy doesn't affect him and he would only be reporting data on what he saw in the context of archaeology. 'There will be no interpretation,' the person said. 'His report on Kodumanal is close to completion and he will submit that along with the Keeladi report.' ASI in May asked its officer K Amarnath Ramakrishna to rework his voluminous report of the first two excavations at Keeladi challenging the dating and classification of key discoveries. Ramakrishna refused to and stood by his report, stating that by relying on AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) dating of 23 artefacts, a chronological sequence of Keeladi to be between the 8th century BCE to 3rd century CE has been established. 'This is a blatant attempt of the BJP to suppress Tamil civilisation. They do not want to accept that an older civilisation opposed to what is touted by them exists so they are finding fault with Ramakrishnah's report and now they have asked for a report by the gentleman who came after him and said that there are no findings,' DMK spokesperson A Saravanan said. Archaeology minister Thangam Thennarasu did not respond to a request for a comment. In a post on X, Thenarasu said: 'The fact that the Union government has sought opinions on the third phase of excavation through a retired officer who has made untrue comments about Keezhadi has exposed the ulterior motives of the Union government. The Union government should change its stance on the Keezhadi issue. Otherwise, the people of Tamil Nadu are waiting to be taught a lesson again through the upcoming assembly elections.' ASI transferred Krishna on June 17, after MK Stalin on June 13 said that the truth from the findings in Keeladi does not serve the script of the BJP and RSS and so they are dismissing the rigorously proven antiquity of Tamil culture. On June 11, Union minister of culture and tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat alleged that the DMK government was refusing to cooperate with the central government on Keeladi research and politicising the findings. Following that Union home minister Amit Shah said that the Indian government would be proud of proof of an ancient civilisation anywhere in India but Tamil Nadu must cooperate to prove findings as per international standards. 'What stand does Gajendra Singh have to say on this issue? We can't take BJP's ministers statements. And it's a double speak by Shah,' Saravanan said. Reacting to the ruling party's remarks, BJP's state vice president Narayanan Thirupathy said that the DMK government is being silly in blaming the BJP. 'ASI is an established 150-year institution. The DMK has to respect its procedures and not pressurise them. Either they are ignorant about standard protocols or they know and are arrogant and unnecessarily politicising the issue by blaming the BJP,' he said.
New Indian Express
10-07-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Retired archaeologist to submit report on Keezhadi 3rd phase
CHENNAI: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has requested retired superintending archaeologist PS Sriraman to write the report for the third phase of excavations in Keezhadi (end of May to September 2017) and ASI's excavations in Kodumanal during 2017-2018, both headed by him. ASI granting permission for Sriraman to write the Keezhadi the report came after the controversy that erupted in May when the organisation raised certain doubts and sought clarifications from archaeologist K Amarnath Ramakrishna on his 982-page report he submitted three years ago on the first two phases of excavations in Keezhadi. Sriraman told TNIE that he had requested ASI to permit him to write these reports since he had supervised them and it was the excavator's responsibility to give the report to the public. On whether any time frame has been given, Sriraman, who will write the reports from the ASI office in Chennai, said, 'The ASI instructed me to complete as quickly as possible.' 'I am concentrating more on Kodumanal because it is an individual work - my work, while the third phase in Keezhadi is for a shorter period and it was a continuation of work done earlier,' Sriraman said. The objects discovered by his team confirmed Kodumanal's significance as a craft-production centre, approximately dating back to the 4th-3rd century CE. The third phase took place amid huge controversy over the sudden transfer of Ramakrishna, who headed the first two phases and brought attention to the site with the findings. The Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology took over the excavations after the third phase. During the third phase in Keezhadi, Sriraman had said that a key objective to trace the continuity of brick structures discovered in earlier two phases was not successful.
The Hindu
09-07-2025
- General
- The Hindu
ASI allows Sriraman to prepare report on Keeladi excavations
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has given permission to archaeologist P.S. Sriraman, who led the third phase of excavations at Keeladi in Sivaganga district, to prepare a detailed report on the work carried out under his supervision. According to official sources in the ASI, the agency has permitted Mr. Sriraman, who retired in 2019, to prepare reports on the third phase of excavations at Keeladi and one season of excavations at Kodumanal in Erode district, which he led. Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Sriraman confirmed that he had sought permission from the ASI to write the reports on excavations at Keeladi and Kodumanal. 'As I had retired, both reports were pending. I sought the approval of the ASI to access the material and prepare the reports. Since all the related materials are in Chennai, I will begin preparing the reports soon,' he said. This comes a couple of months after the ASI asked archaeologist K. Amarnath Ramakrishna, who unearthed an ancient civilisation during the first two phases of excavations at Keeladi, to revise and resubmit his report with necessary corrections. However, he refused to do so, and defended his conclusions as well-reasoned. Mr. Ramakrishna unearthed brick structures and artefacts suggesting the presence of an urban civilisation in Tamil Nadu since the Sangam Age. However, he was transferred to Assam in 2017. Mr. Sriraman, who succeeded him, reported that there was no continuity in the previously discovered brick structures. Since 2017, the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) has been conducting excavations at Keeladi, beginning with the fourth phase. By 2024-25, the excavations had entered its tenth phase and yielded hundreds of antiquities.
