'Decipher Indus Script, win ₹8.5 crore': MK Stalin's challenge
What's the story
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has announced a $1 million (₹8,57,66,529) prize for anyone who can successfully decipher the Indus Valley script.
The announcement was made during the centenary celebration of the Indus Valley Civilization's discovery by Sir John Marshall in Chennai.
Speaking at the event, Stalin bemoaned that even a century after the discovery of the Indus Valley Civilization, which shares similarities with Tamil culture, the script has yet to be translated.
Cultural connections
Stalin highlights cultural links between Indus Valley and Tamil culture
He said that scholars and leaders of the Dravidian movement have long argued that the Indus Valley Civilization is a Tamil civilization.
This perspective is backed by eminent historian Asko Parpola and epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan.
Stalin emphasized similarities between Indus Valley symbols and seals and those discovered in Tamil Nadu excavations at Keeladi and Adichanallur.
He noted that there is a 60% similarity between these symbols and a 90% similarity in writings on mud pots from both regions.
Symbolic similarities
Stalin draws parallels between Indus Valley and Tamil Nadu symbols
The chief minister also compared bulls shown in Indus Valley seals with traditional bull taming events in Tamil Nadu, like Jallikattu.
"Bulls have spread from IVC to Alanganallur and wile Sangam literature eulogises 'Eru Thazuvuthal' (bull taming), in some IVC seals youth, attempting tane, are lifted by bulls," he said.
"Archaeologists had established symbols in the pots of the Indus Valley Civilization, and the symbols found in the mud pots of Tamil Nadu had 90 percent similarities."
Rebranding criticism
Stalin criticizes attempts to rebrand Indus Valley Civilization
Stalin also slammed recent attempts by right-wing outfits to rebrand the Indus Valley Civilization as Vedic or Sindu-Saraswati Civilization.
Stalin also announced a ₹2 crore funding to set up a chair honoring Iravatham Mahadevan for research on the Indus civilization.
This will be a joint effort of the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department and the Indus Research Centre at Chennai's Roja Muthiah Library.