Chennai: Amarnath K Ramakrishna, the archaeologist who led the first Keeladi excavations during 2014-16, has once again refused to revise his report as demanded by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). He stated that he was duty-bound to furnish a true and correct report without any external influences.
Ramakrishna, who currently serves as the director of the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA), wrote his latest rebuttal on May 11. This came a month and a half after the ASI directed him to incorporate changes made by its internal committee into his Keeladi report.
In the letter, accessed by TOI, Ramakrishna said he had submitted his report true to his conscience and to the best of his knowledge. He asserted, “Hence, it is incorrect to allege that I have defied any lawful directions issued by the competent authority.”
Ramakrishna further argued that the internal committee should have handed over a copy of his original Keeladi excavation report, submitted in January 2023, along with its critical evaluation remarks endorsed on it. He emphasized that the committee had not provided any plausible reasons or valid justification while requesting him to improve his report. Instead, they sent him a 114-page report titled ‘Critical evaluation and recommendation’, which he termed as a product of AI-assisted technology.
Ramakrishna maintained that he had performed his duties with the highest degree of professionalism, as expected and followed in ASI, and with utmost dedication to the best of his abilities as director of excavation of Keeladi. He stated, “All through my excavation as well as while writing my report I have followed the principle of merits. I have derived my conclusion fairly and impartially on the basis of material culture and archaeological evidence discovered from the excavated site.” He added that his conclusions in the report were based purely on merit alone, and the report was prepared with utmost honesty and integrity.
There was no need to reconsider his earlier report, Ramakrishna wrote to ASI, adding, “I have not refused to adhere to any instruction given to me in accordance with the established administrative norms and service rules.”
While the previous DMK government backed Ramakrishna’s Keeladi findings and openly sparred with ASI over the delay in releasing the report, sources indicated that there have so far been no signals from Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s government regarding how it would react to the latest standoff.
Ramakrishna had dated an early urban Tamil civilization (800-500 BCE) at Keeladi, near present-day Madurai.
