Where is 'Cholarkalin Thirumaligai'? - Chief Minister Stalin to restore the history of Ariyalur

Ariyalur: DMK and Ariyalur have a beautiful relationship. 15 July 1953 was an important day in the political career of former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. Let us know more about it!

Dalmiapuram and M. Karunanidhi

It was a time when the protest against imposition of Hindi was burning like a forest fire all over Tamil Nadu. At that time, M. Karunanidhi marched into the struggle to change the name of Dalmiapuram to Kallakudi.

As a part, he was involved in a rail strike. Nagoor Hanifa, symbolically sang a policy explanatory song related to the party, gave life to Appadal by singing the lines 'Kallakudi Konda Karunanidhi' . This is an information that this young generation does not know.

Karunanidhi, who was then arrested during the rail roko protest, was imprisoned in Ariyalur Jail. Thus, DMK and Kallakudy Palanganatha have had a political relationship without a break.

It has been reminded again by Chief Minister M.K.Stalin. He recently inaugurated 51 projects in Ariyalur and Perambalur districts which have been completed at a cost of 30 crore 26 lakh rupees. At that time, Chief Minister Stalin announced that a 'museum will be set up at Gangaikonda Cholapuram'.

Chief Minister Stalin about Ariyalur

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Stalin said, "Ariyalur is a rare district. It was here that Rajendra Chola, the first conqueror of the Ganga, built the Gangaikonda Cholapuram.

During his reign he shifted the capital from Tanjore to Cholapuram. Ariyalur is the district that raised the artist as the leader of Tamilkudi philanthropists, who laid his head on the railing to change the name of Dalmiapuram to Kallakudi to save Tamil and Tamils to protect their well-being.

Kalinga sculptures, elephant carvings, twin temple sculptures, wherever you turn, there are rare treasures in Ariyalur. Also, the district is rich in minerals like limestone and sandstone. Jayankondam here is rich in brown coal and oil and gas resources," he said.

Stalin's speech is a historical fact. Ariyalur has an ancient history. Its period is the prehistoric civilization of more than 2 lakh years ago.

Gangaikonda Cholapuram was the capital of Cholaperasana I Rajendra Chola. That city structure does not exist today. All the constructions were buried in the ground. The main objective of the government is to excavate and find it.

Ariyalur before the appearance of mankind

Ariyalur is said to have been submerged under the sea before the appearance of mankind. Due to later climate changes, sea water is known to have moved eastwards. As a result, metamorphic rocks belonging to the gneiss family are exposed in the lands.

These rocks are believed to have been formed from sedimentary and gypsum rocks during different geological periods. This change took place 15 million years ago. Geologists call it the 'Cretaceous' period.

Hence, it is called 'Ariyalur under the river'. From prehistoric times, Sangam period, Pallavar period, Cholas period, Pandyan period and Vijayanagara Empire period, Bijapur Sultan, Marathas to Nawab and British period, continuous history is buried in Ariyalur.

The story of Ariyalur separate district

In 2007, the then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi declared Ariyalur, which has so many historical features, as a separate district from Perambalur district. From that day Ariyalur got its own identity.

The people of this area had been demanding that 'Rajendra Cholan's birthday should be celebrated as a government festival'. Accepting it, Chief Minister Stalin announced that Thiruvathirai Day will be celebrated as a state festival.

Heavy vehicle traffic is high in this district. The reason is that there are many cement plants operating in this district. Due to this, people were constantly complaining that the roads were getting severely damaged. On learning this, Chief Minister Stalin announced that 'Cement Corridor Project will be implemented' in a ceremony held in Ariyalur.

As announced in DMK's election promise, Jayangondam issued an order to return the acquired lands in 13 revenue villages to their rightful owners for brown coal and thermal power projects. At the same time, he also issued a pledge order to those who lost their land.

Also, Chief Minister Stalin said that all necessary steps are being taken to hand over the acquired lands to the owners in the two pending villages of Melur and Ilyur West.

Apart from this, he said, 'We will set up a geological fossil park in Ariyalur district at a cost of 10 crore rupees'. He also gave permission to construct a new bus station. Next, Chief Minister Stalin upgraded Jayankondam Government Hospital to District Government Hospital.

Trade relationship between Cholas with China

Surveys were carried out from March to September 2021 at the GangaikondaCholapuram Palace Mound. A total of 17 air pits consisting of 5 excavation pits were excavated. A total of 1003 artefacts were found in this survey.

Excavation work has been going on since 2021 at the mansion mound. Earlier, six places around Gangaikonda Cholapuram including Ponneri, Kalkulam, Ayudhakalam, Manmalai, and Maligamedu were surveyed using a small unmanned aerial vehicle.

After that the preliminary study started. Then roof tiles, iron nails, Chinese bangles, copper coins etc. were found. At a height of about 5 feet, an enormous palace wall, one meter wide, with a 5 feet long brick drain through it was discovered.

In the second phase of the survey which started 8 months ago, an ancient earthen pot 25 cm high and 12 cm wide was also found on the mansion mound. In addition, Chinese pottery such as copper, gold, round glass, flint kendi noses, celadon and porcelain were found.

Where is ' Cholarkalin Thirumalikai'?

These are considered to mark the beginning of the Middle Ages in various parts of India. These highlight the commercial contact Tamils had with the Chinese in the 11th and 12th centuries.

Three months ago, an ivory sculpture was found in a broken state. It was predicted that it could be a sculpture of the king and a very special object.

All these were visited by Chief Minister Stalin during his visit to Ariyalur. Inscriptions indicate that palaces were built in Gangaikonda Cholapuram in the name of 'Cholakeralan Thirumalikai'.

It was on this occasion that the excavation was started. Stalin started it last January. So many rich historical sources have been found during his reign.

In the history of tomorrow these symbols are to be illuminated separately. It's not just symbols; Cultural identities of Tamils.