Passion of the tongue continues to be the narrative of the ruling DMK to beat the BJP and its ally, the AIADMK, ahead of the 2026 assembly elections with Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday slamming the Modi government and the RSS Parivar for chasing the mirage of the Saraswati civilisation while questioning the scientifically validated Keezhadi excavations that have pushed the antiquity of the Tamils as the oldest in the sub-continent.
“Even when confronted with carbon-dated artefacts and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) reports from international labs on the £Keezhadi excavations, they continue to demand @more proof”… But, on the contrary, despite strong opposition from respected historians and archaeologists, the BJP continues to promote the mythical Saraswati Civilisation. They do so without credible evidence, while dismissing the rigorously proven antiquity of Tamil culture,” Stalin wrote on his ‘X’ handle, continuing his tirade against the BJP-led Union government which was delaying the publication of the Keezhadi excavation on some lame excuses.
“When it comes to #Keezhadi and the enduring truth of Tamil heritage, the RSS ecosystem recoils – not because evidence is lacking, but because the truth does not serve their script,” he said, adding, “We fought for centuries to unearth our history. They fight every day to erase it. The world is watching. So is time.”
Apart from Keezhadi, which revealed an urban industrial settlement, corroborating the Sangam era literary texts, the discovery of iron weapons and implements dating back to BCE 3500 at Sivagalai and other places have led the state government to declare that the iron age in the world commenced from the ancient Tamil country.
Earlier this week, the Union culture minister said the report on the Keezhadi excavation, placing it ahead of BCE 6th century and script found on potsherds prior to that of the Asokan Brahmi thus making it the first script in the sub-continent, required more scientific validation. His remark comes close on the heels of the Archaeological Survey of India directing archaeologist Amarnath K Ramakrishna, who led the excavation, to rework his report with scientific justification for the timeline. However, a defiant Ramakrishna had refused to do so, maintaining that there was no need for that.
The Union minister’s statement had invited a sharp reaction from Tamil Nadu finance and culture minister who said the Modi dispensation was unable to digest the truth about the historical antiquity of the Tamils. “First, they dismissed that there was nothing in Keezhadi, then transferred the lead archaeologist. Then they said there is no fund, and now, after keeping the report to gather dust for two years, they demand proof,” he said, nailing the BJP.