ASI committee to reexamine Keeladi report on site following standoff with archaeologist

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will send an internal committee to re-examine the Keeladi excavation report on-site, according to a letter sent to a Tamil Nadu Member of Parliament. The decision, revealed in Chennai, comes amid an ongoing standoff between the federal archaeological body and archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna over demands to alter the report's findings.

ASI Director-General Yadubir Singh Rawat communicated the decision to VCK MP D Ravikumar in a letter received on June 24. This was in response to a letter written by Ravikumar on March 24, 2025, in which the MP demanded the immediate publication of the Keeladi report without further delay.

The dispute concerns a 982-page excavation report that covers the archaeological work carried out at the Keeladi site during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. The publication of this report has faced continued delays due to disagreements over its chronology and historical findings.

According to the correspondence, the ASI has been demanding changes to the report. However, Ramakrishna has firmly resisted these demands, insisting that the findings and conclusions drawn in the Keeladi excavation report should be treated as final.

In his latest communication to the ASI on May 11, Ramakrishna stated that he was duty-bound to furnish a true and correct report fairly, without any external influences. The archaeologist maintained that there was no need or reason to alter the report, and strongly opposed any attempts to substitute the chronology of the site.

In his response to MP Ravikumar, ASI Director-General Rawat noted that the excavation report has already been vetted by two subject experts. Furthermore, the document has been examined by an internal committee of experts. Despite these prior reviews, the ASI has now decided that an internal committee will re-examine the report directly on-site.