There is mixed response to the decision of the Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) to appoint a manager (administration-cum-finance) for a year’s contract at its Pattanam regional centre, which is part of the Muziris Heritage Project (MHP), what with former KCHR director P.J. Cherian terming it as a move that could lessen the role of the local community in excavation work at Pattanam.
The local community was conceived as managers and sentinels of the site, with professionals playing a low-profile role as facilitators rather than administrators to conserve the site. Hence, members of the local community ought to be ideally considered for KCHR office assistance at Pattanam. The local community seems to have little role now, Mr. Cherian, who is now director of PAMA Institute for the Advancement of Transdisciplinary Archaeological Sciences, said in a letter to Minister for Higher Education R. Bindhu. It is a non-profit research organisation that was spearheading the Muziris excavations.
