CM Stalin inaugurates the statue of John Marshall

Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin unveils statue of Sir John Marshall, key figure in Indus Valley Civilization excavations.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday inaugurated the statue of Sir. John Hubert Marshall, the late British archaeologist, who was instrumental in excavations of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro sites of Indus Valley Civilization which paved the way for the Dravidian links.

The statue was erected on behalf of the Information and Public Relations Department at the Government museum complex at Egmore at the cost of ₹50 lakh. Earlier this year, Mr. Stalin laid the foundation stone for the statue. 

“I unveiled the statue of Sir John Marshall, former Director-General of the ASI, at Chennai Egmore Museum Complex today on his birth anniversary,” Mr. Stalin said in a post on X.

“Sir John Marshall, who discovered and announced the #IndusValleyCivilisation to the world, opened a new chapter in Indian archaeology. His discovery dismantled the false notion that Sanskrit is the foundation of everything and led to the Dravidian hypothesis, reshaping our understanding of the ancient Indian subcontinent forever,” he said. “We will continue to strengthen and advance the path he paved for uncovering the true history of our land,” Mr. Stalin said. 

Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, Minister for Information and Publicity M P Saminathan, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, Tamil Nadu Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments P.K. Sekarbabu, DMK MLAs, Finance Secretary T. Udhayachandran were present during the inauguration.