New Delhi: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s focus on ancient Tamil civilisation, particularly his recent claim that the Iron Age in Tamil Nadu dates back to 3345 BCE, is intertwined with regional and identity politics.
Stalin’s announcement, based on archaeological findings from global labs, seeks to assert Tamil Nadu’s historical significance, positioning it as the cradle of India’s ancient civilisation and challenging the traditional north-centric view of Indian history. The claim that the Iron Age in Tamil Nadu is contemporaneous with the Copper Age of the Indus Valley civilisation highlights the idea that southern India, and specifically Tamil Nadu, was a cultural and technological centre in the ancient world.
This effort is part of a broader political agenda to assert Tamil pride and counter the dominance of North India in the national narrative. Stalin’s government has often positioned itself against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Hindutva agenda, which it views as a threat to Tamil identity and language.
The push for Tamil nationalism contrasts with Dravidian identity, a more inclusive concept that encompasses Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam-speaking populations. Stalin’s promotion of Tamil civilisation through archaeology feeds into this sub-nationalism, positioning Tamil Nadu as the heart of India, not just a peripheral region.
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Archaeologically, findings such as those from Maela Dumparai and Shivagalai, dating to 2175 BCE and 3345 BCE respectively, offer tantalising evidence of an early Iron Age in Tamil Nadu. However, experts caution that while these dates are promising, they require further context and validation.
The Tamil Nadu government’s support for archaeological research, particularly after controversies like the halt of excavations at the Killari site, signals a shift towards regional empowerment in the field of archaeology. This also opens up new possibilities in understanding the early evolution of Indian civilisations, shifting the focus away from the north and encouraging research into regional cultural continuities.
Still, it’s an area of active academic inquiry, and Stalin’s intervention aims to ignite further research into the roots of Tamil civilisation and its connections to the broader Indian subcontinent.
In Episode 1595 of #CutTheClutter, ThePrint Editor-in-chief Shekhar Gupta, Political editor D.K. Singh, and ICHR fellow and archaeologist Disha Ahluwalia, discuss what these archaeological findings mean and the politics behind them.
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