Consider the following statements about the historical evidence of inscriptions in India :

1. The oldest deciphered inscriptions are in Brahmi and Kharoshthi.

2. The earliest inscriptions in the Tamil language are copper plate grants.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Statement 1 is correct: The oldest deciphered inscriptions in India are the edicts of Ashoka, dating to the 3rd century BCE. These were written in Brahmi and Kharoshthi scripts (deciphered by James Prinsep in 1837). While the Harappan script is older, it remains undeciphered.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The earliest inscriptions in the Tamil language are the Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions (also known as Tamili), which are found on cave walls and stone beds in places like Mangulam and Pugalur, dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE. Copper plate grants (such as the Velvikudi or Kurram plates) became a common medium for Tamil inscriptions much later, primarily from the 6th century CE onwards during the Pallava and Pandya periods.