Stalin offers $1 million to decipher Indus valley script
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin asserted on Sunday that the discovery of the Indus Valley civilisation disproves the myth that Aryan civilisation and Sanskrit formed the foundation of India. He emphasised the Dravidian roots of the Indus Valley and announced a reward of $1 million for any scholar or organisation that deciphered its script.
Additionally, he introduced annual awards for two scholars researching inscriptions and coins.
Speaking at the centenary celebration of the Indus Valley discovery by British archaeologist Sir John Marshall, Stalin highlighted numerous similarities between the archaeological findings in Tamil Nadu and the Indus Valley. He noted that the Indus Valley was likely inhabited by the ancestors of Tamils.
The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone for a statue of Sir John, calling it the Tamil Nadu government's duty to honour the British archaeologist for restoring the history and glory of Tamils.
Stalin referenced the scientific evaluation of archaeological sites in Sivakalai, Adichanallur, Mayiladumparai, Mangadu, Thelunganur, and Keezhadi, establishing that ancient Tamil civilisation was contemporaneous with the Indus Valley civilisation.
He pointed out cultural connections, such as a seal from the Indus Valley depicting a man embracing a bull — an act mirrored in ancient Tamil literature and the practice of jallikattu. Additionally, he noted the absence of horses, a hallmark of Aryan civilisation, in the Indus Valley.
The worship of a mother deity and burial practices were shared between the Indus Valley and Tamil Nadu, along with similarities in artefacts and pottery.
Stalin credited Dravidian leaders E.V. Ramaswamy Periyar and C.N. Annadurai for discussing Sir John’s findings in their writings. He recalled that during the classical Tamil conference organised by former chief minister M. Karunanidhi, the Indus Valley seal and the statue of Tamil savant Thiruvalluvar were used as symbols of the event.
Stalin announced plans for a museum at Sivakalai, similar to the one at Keezhadi, and said an archaeological survey was going on at eight sites in Tamil Nadu. He stated that Tamil Nadu archaeologists have established a 90 per cent resemblance between the seals and writings on earthenware found in the Indus Valley and those discovered in Tamil Nadu.