P.J.Cherian's Mentor Christian Dalit Fundamentalist N.K. Jose Demand Return of Hindu Shrines

http://indianchristians.in/news/content/view/4531/48/        Return Hindu shrines: Dalits

Written by Correspondent

Saturday, 09 October 2010

New Delhi: Call it the Babri verdict fallout: A group of Dalit rights activists has decided to approach the government demanding that Buddha and Jain viharas that have been converted to Hindu temples be returned to the original owners. The group, made up of Ambedkar followers, academics, advocates and activists, has also decided to approach the Supreme Court with the demand.Several Buddha and Jain viharas were there in the country from sixth century BC to the 13th century AD, which were later converted into Hindu temples by placing idols in them, the group says. Now that Allahabad High Court has given Hindus two-thirds of the land on which Babri Masjid stood on the ground that there was a temple at the site before the mosque was constructed, all those viharas should also be returned, they argue. According to MS Jayaprakash, a historian, the temples at Tirupati, Kashi, Sabarimala, Guruvayoor and Palani were once Buddhist temples. Even Swami Vivekananda had revealed that the Puri Jagannath temple was originally a Buddhist temple, he says. Hundreds of Buddhist statues, stupas and viharas were destroyed in India between AD 830 and AD 966 in the name of Hindu revivalism, Jayaprakash says. Literary and archaeological sources within and outside India speak of this, he adds. Other members of the group include ‘Dalit Bandhu’ NK Jose, Bhim Jayaraj and Vijay Shekhar. The group plans to meet BSP chief Mayavati. “We hope that Mayavati, whose vote bank is largely made up of Dalits and neo-Buddhists, will be receptive to the idea. The issue is both political and religious — a deadly concoction which no politician can afford to neglect,” says one activist. (Source: The Telegraph, 09 October 2010)

Last Updated ( Friday, 29 October 2010 )

Pattanam Archaeology has Strong Political and Sectarian Undercurrents

Pattanam archaeology  has strong political  undercurrents. On 4th september 2005 there was a conference of a neo-Buddhists radical group at State Co-operative bhavan Thiruvananthapuram. P.J.cherian who delivered the keynote address shared the dias with  president of Kerala Dalit Panthers.It should be mentioned in this context how the World Council of Churches (WCC )in association with Student Christian Movement in India, National Council of Churches in India and Centre for Social Studies and Culture  organized an International Colloquium on Caste , Religion and Culture at Kochi in May 1-4,  2011. The theme of the colloquium  was  asserting the 2000 year old history of Christian church .Dr Sundarbabu of Vikas Adhyayan Kendra, Mumbai.  who came for the colloquium visited Pattanam along his friends .  As reported by Sunderbabu, P.J.Cherian told them that the legend of St Thomas reaching Malankara in AD 52 could not be an impossibility.  Cherian further clarified that the myth of the first Brahman converts is clearly a later bogus fabrication by a threatened minority community under Brahmanical hegemony that persecuted minorities like Jains and Buddhists and annihilated them from the soil of Kerala for ever.In June 2010,JAYASEELAN RAJ submitted  an M.phil thesis to  department of Social anthropology, University of Bergen, Norway. The subject was-The Remnants of Colonial Capital-Economic Crisis and Social Reproduction of Alienation in a south Indian plantation belt.Jayaseelan raj openly admits the support he received from P.J.Cherian . The research discusses not just the dilemma of plantation workers, but also strong Hindutva forces influencing them. Jayaseelan pinpoints attack by Hindutva forces  on Pentacostal christian organisations for attempted conversions.

Justice Sivarajan Dismiss Petition by P.J.Cherian on KCHR Dissolution

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Dissolution of KCHR upheld

PTI Dec 20, 2001, 11.00pm IST

kochi: the kerala high court has dismissed a writ petition challenging thedissolution of the state council for historical research. justice g sivarajan held that the petition filed by p j cherian, director of the recently-dissolved council, and its three members was without merits. the state cabinet had taken a decison on september 22 to dissolve the council. the government had constituted the council and registered it under the travancore-cochin literary and scientific societies act abolishing the kerala gazettier department. but the cabinet reconsidered the desirability of the continuance of the council with reference to the financial burden arising out of its functioning. the court was satisfied that since the council was formed as per the decision of the government it could function only as long as it enjoyed the wish of the government.

JNU Historians Abstain From Referring to P.J.Cherian Due to Recent Controversies

Historians of Jawaharlal Nehru University abstain from mentioning P.J.Cherian in relation to Pattanam. In his new work, -Exploring Early India-Upto AD 1300- Professor Ranbir Chakravarti has not even cared to mention P.J.Cherian in relation to Pattanam.  The archaeological site of Pattanam has been referred  just once in the Fifth chapter-Confrontations, Commerce and Cultural Scenario (c. 200BC-AD 300). On the other hand the credit of Pattanam excavation is indirectly given to Professors Rajan Gurukkal and C. Whittaker. Even in list of  reference works by Prof. Chakravarti not a single article by P.J.Cherian  has been named. The book by Ranbir Chakravarti has been published in 2010 by Macmillan. It seems that JNU historians abstain from referring to P.J.Cherian due to huge controversies that surface daily on Pattanam archaeology

Archaeological Sabbotage ? P.J.Cherian Claims the Oldest Pier in the World has been Excavated at Pattanam(The New Indian Express-29-09-2011 Thiruvananthapuram) .

Until recently this Wharf or Pier   and  canoe   werewidely publicized by P.J.Cherian  and his crew as evidence of maritime trade from Pattanam.  ( Year 2007-photos)

 Canoe excavated at Pattanam during the 2007 excavations 
It is felt that the trenches were  conveniently dug in a manner to help take suitable photographs to give an impression to  the outside world that a wharf or a pier  and canoe has been excavated at Pattanam. After taking photographs and convincing the outside world the structure has been demolished.

                                     

                                               Empty  Trenches  at Pattanam  (2011)                                             

 

Where is the  Residential Complex  Claimed by Cherian?

                                           Where is the Warehouse Claimed by Cherian ?

                                         Where is the Wharf  and Pier Excavated by Cherian?

  The Demolished Remains of the so called  Wharf Structure Deposited Near the Trenches

The Hindu Reports That No Structures Have Been Found at Pattanam Except a Canoe. Where is the Wharf Much Publicized By Cherian ?

  http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/article2098178.ece

KOCHI, June 12, 2011

Pattanam finds throw more light on early maritime trade

K.P.M. Basheer

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The present excavation is the fifth in a series of digs at the site

Fragments of a civilisation:Iron nails found at Pattanam; (right) remnants of an earthen toilet— Photo: By Special Arrangement

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A litany of finds that include iron and copper nails, Roman glass, Chola coins, and terracotta and semi-precious stone beads that sheds new light on the life and times of the ancient Kerala port of Muziris surfaced in the latest archaeological excavations at Pattanam near here.

The excavations, carried out by the Kerala Council for Historical Research in partnership with the Archaeological Survey of India, universities, and research institutions, unearthed more evidence of Kerala's brisk maritime trade with Mesopotamian and Mediterranean regions two millennia ago, according to P.J. Cherian who directs the digs at Pattanam.

The Muziris port, believed to have been located close to the present Kodungalloor, had a thriving urban culture and international trade around the beginning of the Christian era. The port that finds mention in the ancient historical and literary texts is believed to have lost to a massive flood in the Periyar river in the 14th century.

The excavation—conducted from February to May—was the fifth in a series of digs at the Pattanam site.

Objective

The main objective of the latest edition of the excavation was to study the overseas and regional trade networks that intersected at Pattanam, Mr. Cherian pointed out.

Curiously, while large collections of artefacts were found, no remnants of major structures were discovered. One of the most important finds so far has been a 2000-year-old canoe.

Roman pottery

The five Pattanam digs have unearthed a huge quantity of Roman pottery. The terracotta objects of this season include lamps, spindle whorls, toy wheels, discs, oven knobs, and stoppers.

There were two terracotta objects that had a vase base with moulded design of an animal and another with a Swastika symbol. “This season produced 111 sherds of Italianterra sigillata, including some diagnostic types such as rim, base, and stamped sherds,” Mr. Cherian said. “One base had a stamp of three letters ‘VIL,' probably part of a potter's mark, similar to the stamp mark ‘CAH' found at Azhakankulam in Tamil Nadu,” he said.

About 400 glass fragments were recovered this time. Fragments of pillared Roman bowls and beautifully painted glass were also recovered. Ring stones made of glass were excavated for the first time.

The University of Oxford conducted the second season of the archaeo-botanical research.

Two researchers from the collaborating universities of Oxford and Southampton carried out geo-morphological and geo-physical surveys. The finds from Pattanam will be subjected to detailed scientific scan at the laboratories of the collaborating institutions, Mr. Cherian s

Archaeological Fraud Gets Exposed

. Until recently this canoe   was widely publicized by P.J.Cherian  and his crew as evidence of  maritime trade from Pattanam.  Now they are silent on the canoe and wharf. Why?

 Canoe excavated at Pattanam during the 2007 excavations (Photo KCHR)