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Tamil Nadu CM Stalin offers $1 million prize for deciphering Indus Valley script

Jan 05, 2025 10:31 PM IST

Stalin said the Indus Valley Civilisation's (IVC) discovery announcement by Sir John Marshall in 1924 was a turning point in the history of Indian subcontinent.

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin announced a $1 million prize for deciphering the Indus valley script, which he said remains an unsolved riddle for over a century.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin (R) and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin (PTI/File)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin (R) and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin (PTI/File)

Stalin said the Indus Valley Civilisation's (IVC) discovery announcement by Sir John Marshall in 1924 was a turning point in the history of the Indian subcontinent, which altered the understanding of the country's past.

"Many were telling before that the Ariyam and Sanskrit were India's roots; imagination was claimed as history. John Marshall's studies changed that," news agency PTI quoted as saying CM Stalin in Chennai, at the inauguration of a three-day international conference to commemorate the centenary of the announcement of the discovery of the IVC.

The chief minister said Sir John Marshall's voice that Indus valley civilisation preceded Ariyam and that the language spoke there could have been a Dravidian language has now gained strength.

In Tamil Nadu, the word 'Ariyam' is understood to loosely refer to the name 'Aryan,' which may have a linguistic sense. Some people perceive it as a racial designation as well. In the early 1920's Marshall was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India.

‘Dravidian’ symbol

In his address, CM Stalin further said that the Indus valley civilisation was fully developed and it only had bulls, which is a 'Dravidian' symbol. “Beginning with the Indus valley civilisation, the bulls continued through the ages in the Tamil cultural landscape as seen in ancient Tamil literature. It remains so to this day, as evidenced by 'Alanganallur' (Popular jallikattu, bull taming sport venue in Madurai) bulls,” CM Stalin said.

On the other hand, there was no horse emblem or sign in the Indus civilisation. The CM said: "In the Vedic literature, there were no big cities and there was also no mother Goddess worship. However, these two were found in Indus valley and in Keezhadi (Tamil Nadu) as well. Only based on all such things, it has been established that the Indus valley had been the place of the ancestors of the Sangam age Tamil people."

We are still unable to clearly understand the writing system of the Indus valley civilsation, that once flourished, the chief minister said, adding that archaeologists, Tamil linguists, scholars and several others, across the world, continue their great efforts to this day to solve the Indus riddle that has not been answered for over a 100 years.

Also Read | TN politics: Tamil nationalism versus Dravidian identity

In order to encourage such efforts, a prize of US dollar 1 million (approximately 8.57 crore) will be provided to individuals or organisations that solves the Indus puzzle, he said.

The prize is for those who find an appropriate answer to the Indus mystery and help clearly understand the Indus writing system, which will be accepted by archaeologists.

Further, the CM announced a 2 crore grant for instituting a research chair named after eminent scholar Iravatham Mahadevan to facilitate the Indus Research Centre of the Roja Muthiah Research Library to take up study-series on Indus culture in association with the state government archaeology department.

Stalin also announced annual awards to two scholars --archaeologists, epigraphists and numismatists-- who tirelessly work to bring out the Tamil culture's antiquity.

The Indus civilisation, one of the earliest, is reputed for its urban culture and its script has not been decrypted yet. The fading away of such a civilisation, and its context, also remains a riddle.

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