05-04-2006, 03:52 AM
Discovery of a century
The discovery of a stone celt (hand-held axe) bearing signs of the Indus Valley civilisation near Mayiladuthurai (May 1) is indeed significant. It is amazing that the celt as old as 1500 BC contains the word Murukan, a name still popular in Tamil! It is difficult to cite another language that has as hoary a tradition as Tamil. One hopes further research will establish the linguistic and cultural traditions of the Tamil people since the ancient times.
K. Natarajan,
Bangalore
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It is the discovery of a century as Iravatham Mahadevan put it. The celt could signify the missing link in the history of the Indus Valley Civilisation and the people of peninsular India. It was theorised that Brahui was a Dravidian language, based on which the theory was in currency that the people of the Indus Valley were Dravidians. The new find could have travelled from Harappan sites as Harappans were good seafarers (Harappan seals were found as far as Sumeria) and Mayiladuthurai is close to a seacoast. The seals are indigenous, which means there was a peninsular migration of Harappans or the Harappan culture was extended to this part of peninsular India.
Vijay Veerla,
Nottingham, U.K.
* * *
The discovery reaffirms that the people of Harappa migrated to south India. The neolithic generation of Harappa spoke a language that was Dravidian and the migration of culture took place approximately three millennium ago. The discovery of the celt should be properly recorded and protected as a monument to defeat any rumour that it was smuggled out of Harappa.
A.P. Jeyaraj,
Chennai
* * *
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The discovery of a stone axe with signs found on the Indus Valley seals is certainly significant, but we need to exercise caution and not jump to hasty conclusions. To begin with, similar signs have been found in caves in Kodumalai in Tamil Nadu and in Anakodai in Jaffna (Sri Lanka).
Mr. Mahadevan's claim that the language of the Indus Valley was Dravidian because he reads a Tamil sounding word (Murukan) in these four signs is far-fetched. It is an opinion that is not supported by any methodology. One can similarly claim that Ashoka's Brahmi inscriptions are in Tamil because early Tamil used a version of Brahmi. All we can say at this time is that the Indus Valley people had connections with the south, just as they did with West Asia, where too examples of Indus writing have been found.
N.S. Rajaram,
Bangalore
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The discovery of a stone celt (hand-held axe) bearing signs of the Indus Valley civilisation near Mayiladuthurai (May 1) is indeed significant. It is amazing that the celt as old as 1500 BC contains the word Murukan, a name still popular in Tamil! It is difficult to cite another language that has as hoary a tradition as Tamil. One hopes further research will establish the linguistic and cultural traditions of the Tamil people since the ancient times.
K. Natarajan,
Bangalore
* * *
It is the discovery of a century as Iravatham Mahadevan put it. The celt could signify the missing link in the history of the Indus Valley Civilisation and the people of peninsular India. It was theorised that Brahui was a Dravidian language, based on which the theory was in currency that the people of the Indus Valley were Dravidians. The new find could have travelled from Harappan sites as Harappans were good seafarers (Harappan seals were found as far as Sumeria) and Mayiladuthurai is close to a seacoast. The seals are indigenous, which means there was a peninsular migration of Harappans or the Harappan culture was extended to this part of peninsular India.
Vijay Veerla,
Nottingham, U.K.
* * *
The discovery reaffirms that the people of Harappa migrated to south India. The neolithic generation of Harappa spoke a language that was Dravidian and the migration of culture took place approximately three millennium ago. The discovery of the celt should be properly recorded and protected as a monument to defeat any rumour that it was smuggled out of Harappa.
A.P. Jeyaraj,
Chennai
* * *
<span style='color:blue'>
The discovery of a stone axe with signs found on the Indus Valley seals is certainly significant, but we need to exercise caution and not jump to hasty conclusions. To begin with, similar signs have been found in caves in Kodumalai in Tamil Nadu and in Anakodai in Jaffna (Sri Lanka).
Mr. Mahadevan's claim that the language of the Indus Valley was Dravidian because he reads a Tamil sounding word (Murukan) in these four signs is far-fetched. It is an opinion that is not supported by any methodology. One can similarly claim that Ashoka's Brahmi inscriptions are in Tamil because early Tamil used a version of Brahmi. All we can say at this time is that the Indus Valley people had connections with the south, just as they did with West Asia, where too examples of Indus writing have been found.
N.S. Rajaram,
Bangalore
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