Chola era copper plates must be put on public display
The demand from various quarters to bring the 11th-century Anaimangalam Chola Copper Plates to Tamil Nadu has gained momentum after the Netherlands formally returned the artefacts to India.
Describing the development as a matter of happiness, MDMK general secretary Vaiko, in a statement, appealed to both the union and state governments to ensure that the copper plates are preserved and displayed at the museum in Nagapattinam. Vaiko said the plates, issued during the reign of Kulothunga Chola I, confirmed grants made earlier to a Buddhist vihara.
“Historians do not regard these inscriptions merely as administrative records; rather, they describe them as important evidence of the multicultural character and extensive maritime trade connections of TN in medieval southern India,” he said.
CPM MP Su Venkatesan, in a statement, said that the inscriptions should be brought to Tamil Nadu instead of being kept away from public view in Delhi like several other recovered antiquities. Stressing their importance to Tamil Nadu’s pluralistic and international heritage, he called upon the state government to take steps to secure the plates.
Former minister for archaeology and Tamil culture Thangam Thennarasu sought the plates to be brought to Tamil Nadu so that they could be displayed among the people “to whom their history truly belongs”.