Stalin: Advent of Iron Age from Tamil soil

The Iron Age began on Tamil soil, chief minister MK Stalin said on Thursday, offering test reports from top institutions and testimony from experts as proof to bolster a narrative that centres on the supremacy of an ancient Dravidian civilisation.

- Divya Chandrababu

CHENNAI:

The Iron Age, when the discovery of iron smelting technology helped revolutionise agriculture, war and construction, is considered to have begun around 1400 BCE-1500 BCE in India, and helped catalyse larger settlements and cities.

But Stalin's comments pushed back the date by more than two millennia and suggested that Tamil Nadu might have been among the first places on earth to have begun using molten iron. Releasing carbon dating results from international institutions, Stalin said the reports pointed to the use of iron in the region to the beginning of 4th millennium BCE.

"With immense pride and unmatched satisfaction, I have declared to the world: The Iron Age began on Tamil soil," he said.

"Based on results from world-renowned institutions, the use of iron in Tamil Nadu dates back to the beginning of 4th millennium BCE, establishing that iron usage was prominent in South India over 5,300 years ago," he added.

Till now, the advent of the Iron Age in India was considered to be the painted grey ware culture in the northern Gangetic plains in around 1,500 BCE.

Stalin's comment comes amid a polarising debate on India's ancient history and conflicting theories of Aryan migration-topics that have cast a long shadow on contemporary politics and fuelled regional pride.

The findings also give ammunition to Stalin's vow when he took over as chief minister in 2021 that his government will pursue archaeological excavations to prove that the history of the Indian subcontinent cannot overlook Tamil Nadu, as part of a larger ideological effort to position himself as a staunch opponent of the Bharatiya Janata Party.