Vaiko slams Centre over Keeladi report delay, says BJP-RSS distorting history

Chennai, June 11 (IANS) MDMK General Secretary Vaiko lashed out at the Centre for its prolonged delay in releasing the archaeological excavation reports of Keeladi, accusing it of deliberately suppressing Tamil history to promote a singular Vedic narrative.

In a strongly worded statement, Vaiko alleged that the BJP-led Central government, along with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), is attempting to rewrite history by sidelining evidence of Tamil civilisation in Keeladi and promoting what he termed as “non-existent Sanskritic civilisation”.

“While trying to black out the Keeladi Tamil civilisation, the Union government is relentlessly searching for a Sanskrit civilisation that does not exist,” he said.

He condemned the Centre’s alleged attempts to position Sanskrit as the mother of all Indian languages and to propagate the Aryan migration theory as a historical fact. “It is condemnable that the government is pushing the false narrative that Aryans are the original inhabitants of India and that Sanskrit is the source of all Indian languages,” he added.

Vaiko further criticised the RSS and BJP for their attempts to impose a monolithic cultural framework across the country. “They are against the diverse linguistic and cultural heritage of India. Their goal is to enforce one language, one culture, and one tradition by imposing Hindi and Sanskrit,” he said.

The senior leader recalled that while the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conducted Phases 1, 2, and 3 of the Keeladi excavations, the Tamil Nadu state government undertook Phases 4 through 9.

The state has already published its findings, but the Centre is yet to release the reports of Phases 2 and 3.

“Despite the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court directing the release of the reports, the ASI continues to delay them.

Meanwhile, the ASI has asked Dr Amarnath Ramakrishna, who led the excavations, to resubmit the reports with corrections. But Dr Amarnath has categorically stated that the reports are complete and require no corrections,” Vaiko pointed out.

Calling the delay a deliberate act of historical suppression, Vaiko urged the people of Tamil Nadu to remain vigilant and resist the “fascist forces” trying to erase Tamil antiquity through cultural and political conspiracies.

–IANS

AAL/DPB