Criminal, immoral to make changes in Keeladi report, says ASI official

CHENNAI: ASI director (National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities) Amarnath Ramakrishna was highly critical of the Centre and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for seeking changes in his 982-page Keeladi excavation report.In an interview to TOI, Ramakrishna, who retained NMMA but was relieved of "Antiquity", said, "I can proof-read and correct spelling errors, but not the concept. If I change the concept, I become a criminal. If you ask for change in first-hand information, you are spoiling the moral value."On Union culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat's remark that the Keeladi report was neither scientifically sound nor technically corroborated, Ramakrishnaurged him to read the report first.

To a question on whether there was an attempt to dilute the ancientness of Keeladi civilisation, Ramakrishna said, "They seem to be doing so." He said, "India has a plural culture. We have to enlighten people about it. They always talk about Indus Valley Civilisation, Vedic Civilisation, Maurya and Harshavardhana dynasties.

Why are you not seeing other parts of the country?"Sangam existed here, said Ramakrishna. "Till date, we have not determined the age of the Sangam period." On ASI asking retired archaeologist P S Sriraman to submit his report on the third phase of excavation at Keeladi, Ramakrishna said, "How can a person without any background of the site simply say there is nothing?" Sriraman had submitted a report saying there were no significant findings during the third phase of excavations.