A Rejoinder to the Hindu's Report “A Mosque visit Modi finds difficult to pull off”

“The Pattanam excavations under Cherian have also begun to attract some Biblical and Jewish scholarly interest, making the whole thing look like an unholy conglomeration of various interest groups.It is time the Government of took serious notice of these groups”. This strongly worded remark was made by Prof. Dilip.K.Chakrabarti, in his recent book ‘Nation First’ published in 2014. One of the most reputed archaeologists in India and also Emeritus Professor of South Asian Archaeology, Cambridge University, Prof. Chakrabarti is currently Member, Indian Council for Historical Research.

Ignoring Professor Chakrabarti’s strong allegations against Pattanam excavations, The Hindu political editor Vargheese K.George has charged the Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram of questioning the Heritage Project. In a write up dated 27th August, 2015, titled “A Mosque Visit Modi Finds Difficult to Pull off”, Vargheese.K.George is trying to put the Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram on the defensive. By referring the retired JNU Preofessor Dr. K. N. Panicker who is not an archaeologist to give an expert comment on excavation studies, George wanted to reiterate his preconceived notion that Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram`s view on Muziris project is communal and without historical evidence. Vargeese K George should understand that, like Prof. Chakrabarti, former ICHR Chairman and veteran historian Prof. MGS Narayanan has vehemently come out against Pattanam excavations on numerous occasions and has demanded that the site be kept under the custody of Archaeological Survey of India to bring out historical truths. Like Vichara Kendram, Prof.MGS has been strongly questioning the methodology of Pattanam excavations and its misinterpretations.

On November 2011 at the national seminar of archaeologists, Prof. A. Sundara, former director of Archaeology and Museums, Karnataka, vehemently criticized the archaeologicalexcavations at Pattanam site and the rambling hotchpotch of cultural remains without periodization. On 4th August 2011, Dr.R.Nagaswamy former director of archaeology, and Dr.T.Satyamurthy, former director Archaeological Survey of India, who also served as director of archaeology, Government, condemned the excavation methodology and dubious interpretations by KCHR on Pattanam. While pointing fingers towards Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram, Vargheese K George has conveniently kept in oblivion the opinions and the serious allegations raised against Pattanam by these internationally acclaimed archaeologists and historians. The names of such veteran archaeologists and historians who have been contentious of Pattanam like Professors Dilip Chakrabarti, MGS Narayanan, A.Sundara, R.Nagaswamy and T.Satyamurthy have been purposefully kept aside by Vargheese K George to divert public attention. Instead he has cleverly placed the dispute on Pattanam excavations as a debate between KCHR and Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram charging the BVK of communalizing the issue.

We request Sri.Vargheese K George to go through the article published in Mathrubhumi weekly in 2014, by Prof. .Rajan Gurukkal, a pronounced Marxian historian and a member of the Muziris Heritage Project in which he admitted that Pattanam site was unfit for any archaeological excavations. Gurukkal pointed out that the soil at Pattanam has been virtually tampered for various construction purposes and digging of wells, leaving no space for stratigraphical analysis of the cultural remains. If such a site has been selected for archaeological excavations by Professors K.N.Panikkar and P.J.Cherian, it shows their ignorance in ancient historical studies since they are also modern historians. After the excavations in 2007 and 2008 no eminent archaeologist in India has come openly in support of the Pattanam Archeological Site. The KCHR claimed that unearthed remains from Pattanam include warehouse, wharf, brick walls, postholes, clay platforms, multiple layers of floor, ring wells, foundation brick walls, soakage pits, semi circular structures, brick structure with three enclosures which could be contested as evidence of “Early Historic urban architectural features. There is not a single reference in KCHR reports regarding the cultural stratigraphy. Such structural remains are neither found in the trenches nor in photographs published by KCHR. When Vichara Kendram raised objections the claims were with drawn for some time. The metal objects from the site have not yet been typologically classified and archaeometallurgical studies have not yet been attempted. Regarding the claim of lapidiaries at Pattanam, there has been no mention on the variety of semi-precious stone beads from the site nor studies on the complex and expensive manufacturing sequences involved .Finally on the claim that Pattanam site has the largest assemblage of Roman pottery in India, we question that such claims are impossible without quantitative analysis from various sites associated with Roman pottery. The excavators are totally silent on XRD and XRF reports on ceramics from Pattanam. The antiquities have not been classified or presented into Protohistoric and Historic cultural remains.What KCHR claims are evidences of Roman trade.

The Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram pointed out in 2012 that much before licence was given by ASI in 2003 for excavations, trenching was conducted at Pattanam in 1998 and the antiquities unearthed were transferred to Union Christian College Museum at where Dr.Cheriyan was in the teaching faculty in the department of history.It shows that much undocumented antiquities have been transferred from Pattanam. If such black marks already exist on KCHR and Pattanam along with irregularities in excavations, along with strong criticisms by eminent scholars such as Professors Dilip Chakrabarti and MGS Narayanan, the Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram should not be held responsible by Vargheese K George for the Prime Ministers office being reluctant to accept the offer for inaugurating the Muziris project.

K. C. Sudhir Babu General Secretary Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram Samskrithi Bhavan, GPO Lane Thiruvnanthapuram-1 Ph: 9847480719 Email: [email protected]