|

Tamil Nadu CM announced a $1 million prize for deciphering Indus Valley Script.

(Source – Indian Express, Section – Explained – Page No. – 11)

Topic: GS1 – History
Context
  • Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has announced $1 million prize for deciphering the Indus Valley script.

Analysis of the news:

Indus Valley Seals: A Collection Of Ancient Seals Depicting Various Motifs And Symbols.

Stalin’s Offer and the Indus Script Mystery

  • Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s $1 million prize for deciphering the Indus Valley script aims to address a historical enigma while reinforcing his position as a defender of Tamil and Dravidian heritage.
  • The move aligns with recent findings linking the Indus script and Tamil Nadu’s ancient graffiti, strengthening claims of cultural continuity.

The Study Behind the Announcement

The study titled “Indus Signs And Graffiti Marks of Tamil Nadu – A Morphological Study” by K. Rajan and R. Sivananthan documents over 15,000 graffiti marks from Tamil Nadu and compares them with 4,000 Indus Valley artefacts. Key findings include:

  • Identification of 42 base signs, 544 variants, and 1,521 composite forms.
  • Nearly 60% of Tamil Nadu signs show parallels with the Indus script.
  • The study posits cultural exchanges between the Copper Age Indus and Iron Age South India, suggesting a shared or evolved symbolism rather than a lost script.

About the Indus Script:

  • The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), one of the most advanced ancient urban cultures, left behind an enduring mystery in its undeciphered script.
  • Since its discovery in the 1920s, scholars have made numerous attempts to decode this enigmatic script, often sparking debates over its linguistic and cultural implications.
  • Recent research by Bahata Ansumali Mukhopadhyay offers fresh perspectives, suggesting that the script primarily served commercial purposes.

Significance of the Findings

  • Excavations at Keeladi, Sivagalai, and Thulukarpatti yielded graffiti marks that resonate with Indus symbols.
  • This underscores the possibility of cultural contact or continuity, challenging established Aryan-centric historical narratives.
  • The Tamil Nadu study’s morphological, non-linguistic approach highlights the evolution of these symbols rather than their disappearance.

Conclusion

  • Stalin’s prize announcement and the Tamil Nadu study advance both historical and political agendas.
  • They seek to resolve the enduring mystery of the Indus script while asserting the importance of Tamil culture and identity, challenging mainstream historical narratives with scientific and cultural evidence.
  • Deciphering the Indus script necessitates more comprehensive archaeological exploration and analysis.
  • Expanding the dataset, uncovering multilingual artefacts, and identifying the language linked to the script are critical steps.
  • Only with these breakthroughs can scholars hope to unravel one of the greatest enigmas of ancient history.
                              Challenges in Deciphering the Indus Script

Absence of Multilingual Inscriptions

  • Deciphering unknown scripts often relies on comparing them with known ones through multilingual inscriptions, such as the Rosetta Stone. However, no such inscriptions have been found for the Indus script, despite evidence of trade links with Mesopotamia. This limits opportunities to decode its meaning.

Unknown Language

  • The Indus script belongs to the most difficult category: an unknown script representing an unknown language. Without clear evidence of the language it encodes, scholars struggle to assign phonetic values or linguistic structure to the symbols.

Limited Material Evidence

Approximately 3,500 inscribed seals have been discovered, each containing an average of only five characters. This small dataset, coupled with the limited understanding of the Indus Valley Civilization, hampers deeper analysis.
Practice Question:  Discuss the significance of Tamil Nadu’s recent archaeological findings in connecting the Indus Valley Civilization with the Dravidian cultural heritage. How does this contribute to the broader narrative of Indian history and its political implications? (150 Words /10 marks)

 

For more such UPSC related Current Affairs, Check Out Arunachal Pradesh Revives 1978 Anti-Conversion Law Amid Cultural Preservation and Religious Freedom Debate

Similar Posts

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments