The Keeladi Question

The village becomes a flashpoint as Tamil parties champion ancient roots and the BJP-led Centre calls for further archaeological verification. Shine Jacob reports

- Shine Jacob reports

In southern Tamil Nadu, along the quiet curve of the Vaigai river, lies Keeladi, which until 2013, rarely featured in conversation beyond its proximity to the temple city of Madurai. But over the past decade, this unassuming patch of earth has become the unlikely site of one of India's most charged archaeological and political debates.

What began as a scientific excavation into ancient settlement patterns has turned into a flashpoint in a larger struggle over how Indian civilisation is remembered, narrated, and contested.

Today, Keeladi finds itself at the heart of a growing row between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led state government, with competing claims over the antiquity and identity of Tamil civilisation.

The Union government has sought additional scientific validation for findings from the Sangam-era site, led by archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has denounced these demands as an "onslaught on Tamil culture". With elections approaching, the issue has galvanised widespread protests across the state, with all major Dravidian parties—including actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam—lending support.

The DMK's chief rival All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, too, has entered the fray, reminding people that when the Centre withdrew from the excavation, it was the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa who ensured its continuation by the state government.