Hello World,
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| Image Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/70xbup/article29461582.ece/ALTERNATES/LANDSCAPE_1200/20THKEEZHADI02 |
This question is a big red alert to me!
Here’s why:
This questions seems to be a consequence of the current right wing efforts to rewrite history to make sure their ‘creations’ get an ‘ancient’ image in the minds of the general population. The primary purpose is to expand the right wing propaganda using such a re-written history and eventually fool people into believing incorrect information that will further divide the masses especially on religious basis.
However, I wish to indicate my concern in a different direction also with respect to this question where I see the right wing trying to establish a ‘competitive co-existence’ of hindutva identities along with every culture’s original identities. It doesn’t matter if you speak Tamil or Kashmiri. The current right wing effort wants to place a fictional character representing hindutva within your history to make sure you agree that hindutva is the original old culture. The fact is we are mix of many old cultures with none having to do anything even remotely with hindutva or the associated fake news.
When I read that those in charge of Keezhadi research are sending samples to Pune and are collaborating with their Pune based archaeology/history ‘experts’ I am afraid they are being gamed into interacting with the Deccan College gang that claims they have genome sequence that says hindus are original inhabitants and that they did not migrate from elsewhere [essentially saving the Aryan’s their face from the ‘foreigner’ tag].
If I am not wrong, the Keezhadi research is carefully being funneled into the right wing efforts such that the output of the Keezhadi research says North Indian races existed before Tamil race and that Tamil race might have also evolved from the North or Non-Tamil race [I have no clue to what extent they will drag this fantasy].
The first step they attempted was to create the mental demand for clarity in Keezhadi research where deliberate restrictions on the research was placed which blew up on media raising the concerns of many, especially the Tamil population. The Tamil population is concerned that they will not get a fair opportunity to better understand their history which for some reason hardly ever gets a coverage in our history books.
The next step is underway where those involved in Keezhadi research are collaborating with those who wish to ‘re-write’ the history to establish the Aryans are not from other lands but the senior race of India. Since the samples are sent outside Tamilnadu and the researchers are forced to interact and collaborate with a specific group of researchers controlled by the government, the output will be carefully scrutinized to make sure the version of Tamil history that comes out does not corroborate or substantiate the Aryan invasion/migration conclusions that are already with us, as proved by many reliable historians many decades ago.
The final step will be the publication of the findings where the Aryan races or the ‘superior’ races representing the hindutva ideology will be documented as co-existent with the Tamil culture. I am suspecting they use the Bhakti movement part of the history to show the Aryan/superior races engaged with Tamils during the Bhakti movement [or any such interaction dating back] where Tamils and the hindutva identities co-existed.
All this, right now, seems convoluted and to be fair, a bit confusing. However, when I remove the titles, segmentation, semantics and classifications, what I see is this:
The Keezhadi research is being gamed to establish a credible research output which does include hidutva identities along with Tamil identities such that if Tamils deny it, then they are denying their own existence and to salvage their own Tamil pride, they will silently agree with hindutva history co-existing with their own. The catch is: If Tamils deny any part of Keezhadi, they are insulting their own culture and the only option is to accept the Keezhadi research when it comes out with statements claiming the Aryans were indeed the senior-most races much elder/superior to Tamils and that there was a healthy interaction between Tamil and the ancient hindu culture.
All such statements, should they make it through the Keezhadi research, are fake news.
Please watch two linguistics experts discussing the history and sanskrit and Tamil and the related history of the same and you will see the evidence discussed in detail:
There are Tamil literature that dates back much behind the times of Ramayana/Mahabharata/Hindu-shastra. here is another such discussion between linguistic experts who discuss Thirukural:
Overall, my view is that the hindutva based right wing propaganda is slowly hijacking the Keezhadi research to carefully place their identities in the Tamil history to fool the Tamil population which might exist say 100 years from now into believing that Tamils had Aryan races and hindutva culture as senior and superior to their own Tamil culture. This will have dangerous consequences should it materialize that way.
The fact is that Tamil populations existed well before the hindutva/hindu-shastra fantasies were even conceptualized. Sanskrit is a literary dialect developed to support the monarchs’ efforts to establish a reliable governance with the motive of enabling their families in the position of power and privilege. Nothing less, nothing more.
Please look up all news items about Keezhadi and think about the sequence of events and how Tamil history is being researched and governed by everyone while not letting Tamils handle it by themselves. I do not want to tarnish the integrity of all researchers but I have a sense of fear that there exist a select group of non-Tamil researchers who wish to re-write the Tamil history and remove the ‘old’ tag from Tamil culture so their political hindutva colleagues make inroads into Tamilnadu and ransack the remainder of the Tamil culture, or in other words, my culture. I, as a Tamilian, acknowledge that our country has a mix of diverse cultures and we need to collaborate and co-exist but the rise in right wing propaganda seems to saffronize all of us to establish ‘one culture’ which is invalid, incorrect and inhuman in every sense. I do not look down on any culture but I refuse to accept the idea of my history being distorted to render someone else’s fake history as real. Tamil culture existed before the religions were created and there is ample evidence in our literature to support that. The two videos are tips of those ice bergs.
Keezhadi excavations and related research can and will add to the existing findings but this is not the first time that Tamil history is getting a clearance or certification. Tamil population has so much literature which has been teaching the real Tamil history all along. Yes, Keezhadi is interesting but Keezhadi is not the first time or the first evidence.
I would like to conclude that the Keezhadi research has already established a bit of evidence substantiating existing research findings about the Tamil culture and its history but I am afraid the final output might have some carefully misguided statements which might force everyone to undermine the Tamil culture by falsely placing the hindutva ideology intermingled with the Tamil history. Tamil culture has nothing to do with hindutva but the Keezhadi research output might be misrepresented on purpose to include hindutva as part of the Tamil culture.
I am afraid my culture, history and existence will be reduced to a few fake debunking stunts just so one group can raise their political capital using re-written and misrepresented history. I am afraid Tamils are at the risk of a cultural genocide apart from the economic genocide which is ongoing since mid 2014.
I am Tamil and and I have nothing to do with anything even remotely hindutva. Tamil culture existed much before the concept of hindutva was created for political objectives of the monarchs of that time.
Regards,
