Noted epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan dies at 88
Renowned epigraphist Padma Shri Iravatham Mahadevan (88) passed away here on Monday after a brief illness. He is survived by his son Sridhar and grandchildren Vandana Vidyasagar and Vinay Vidyasagar.
By : migrator
Update: 2018-11-26 19:08 GMT
Chennai
Mahadevan was an eminent scholar on the Tamil Brahmi and Indus Valley scripts.
Known globally for his contribution to the study of India’s ancient writing systems, Mahadevan authored ‘The Indus Script - Texts, Concordance and Tables’, published in 1977, describing the script used during the Indus Valley Civilisation. He established the Indus Research Centre at the Roja Muthiah Research Library in Chennai.
Mahadevan was born on October 2, 1930, and completed his schooling in Tiruchy. He attended Vivekananda College in Chennai and later pursued legal studies in the Madras Law College. Mahadevan was a civil servant who had served the central as well as the State government, before availing voluntary retirement in 1980, according to reports. He voluntarily retired from service to pursue his interest in epigraphy. He became the editor of a Tamil daily in the late 1980s.
Condoling his death, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said Mahadevan was an ‘honest’ IAS officer and recalled him being honoured with the Padma Shri in 2009. He had carved a name for himself in the field of archaeology, Palaniswami said in a statement.
Opposition leader condoles demise of Mahadevan
DMK president MK Stalin condoled the demise of renowned epigraphist and former Dinamani (Tamil News Paper) editor Iravatham Mahadevan, who died here on Monday.
In a release here, Stalin expressed shock over the sudden death of Padmashree awardee Mahadevan who, he said, had served the government for over 27 years. He recalled Mahadevan’s study of Tamil Brahmi inscriptions in Tamil Nadu as ‘thorough and systematic.’ His work came to be recognised nationally and internationally. Meanwhile, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder Dr S Ramadoss, in his condolence message, said he was shocked this morning on hearing the sad news. Mahadevan had brought out truths after various archeological study, he said.
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