Tamil is India’s pride, says Pratibha Patil

COIMBATORE - President Pratibha Patil inaugurated the World Classical Tamil Conference here Wednesday, describing Tamil history as India’s pride.

“The history of the Tamils is our nation’s pride,” Patil said in her inaugural speech to applause from the thousands gathered for the five-day event.

Speaking in this decked-up town some 510 km from Chennai, the president pointed out that Tamil got the status of a classical language in 2004 due to its role as a carrier of great culture, not just because of its age.

“Many concepts intrinsic to India’s society and basic to its polity are found in Tamil discourse over the millennia. For example, respect for each other’s religion has long been part of Tamil cultural tradition,” she said.

Patil added that Tamil Nadu — home to the largest number of Tamils all over the world — has been leading in “social reform, fighting social biases and working for achieving a society where people from all sections of society would be treated with equal respect”.

Thousands of Tamil scholars and language experts from India and about 50 other countries have gathered for the conference. About 1,000 academic papers will be presented at the meeting, including about 200 from abroad.

Tamil, one of the oldest living languages, is spoken by an estimated 75 million people, mostly in Tamil Nadu.

Patil said the Indian concept of devolution of powers to the village panchayats was an idea borrowed from economic units in Tamil Nadu over the years.

“These village panchayats were, in fact, little republics enjoying a great deal of local autonomy with powers of taxation for local purposes. They also served as centres of social life and culture. It is this model of rural development that can bring progress and prosperity in our villages.”

Saying that culture’s “most significant contribution” was its literature, Patil said Tamil Language was “amongst the oldest living languages of the world with its extra-ordinary volume of literature and grammar”.

Mentioning the literature in Sangam period, she said that the poets were from all classes including women.

She urged the younger generation to anchor themselves with the “knowledge of Tamil culture, literature and values”.

“I am confident that as living language, Tamil will evolve to meet the needs of a changing world, even as it draws strength from its ancient roots.”

Speaking on the occasion, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said Tamil was not only an international language “it is like a mother for all the languages of the world”.

“This World Classical Tamil Conference is different from the previous eight conferences. The three words — World, Classical and Tamil — not only contain a depth of meaning but also describe the conference,” he said.

Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala and Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin also spoke on the occasion.

Earlier, President Patil gave away the Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi Classical Tamil Award to Finnish Tamil scholar Asko Parpola.