In 2015, a team of archeologists from the Archeological Survey of India began excavations at a coconut-tree farm at Keezhadi, near Madurai, Tamil Nadu. They discovered thousands of artefacts dating back to the Sangam era (a period between 400 BCE and 200 CE). These were the first-ever evidence of an urban civilisation from the Sangam era, writes Saradha V in this article for The Caravan .
But the project has been mired in controversy since then, with the Central Government and ASI not lending their full support. In late March 2017, a few weeks before the third phase of excavation was due to begin, the ASI issued a transfer order to Amarnath Ramakrishna, the superintendent archeologist at the site. In this interview, the archaeologist says that this is the Centre's way to cover-up a part of Indian history. In which case, he asks an important question: Don’t we need to know India’s history?
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