Petition to declare Tamil a Classical Language

[Harold F. Schiffman]

>>From the Hindu (Madras)

Date:20/08/2003
http://www.thehindu.com/2003/08/20/stories/2003082006460400.htm
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Tamil language action council meets Vajpayee

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI Aug. 19. A day after observing a hunger-strike, members of the
Tamil Classical Language Action Council today met the Prime Minister, Atal
Behari Vajpayee, and submitted a memorandum urging the Centre to declare
Tamil a classical language. Hundreds of scholars from across the country
under the banner of the Action Council observed the hunger-strike in the
capital.

Well-known Tamil personalities and office-bearers of the Delhi, Bangalore
and Thiruvananthapuram Tamil Sangams, the Thalai Nagar Tamil Sangam,
Chennai, and several Tamil organisations from all over India took part in
the protest. In the memorandum, the convener of the council, Pulavar T.
Sundarajan, said linguistic experts all over the world had specified
Tamil, Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Chinese and Hebrew as classical languages
of the world.

The Government had recognised Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic as classical
languages, it pointed out and said the plea to recognise Tamil as a
classical language was made as early as 1887 by the scholar, Paruthi Mal
Kalaignar, and the appeal had been repeatedly made ever since. The
memorandum said the Prime Minister was well aware of the fairness of the
demand and had on many occasions expressed his willingness to do the
needful.

Hence, the scholars pleaded that the Government concede this long-standing
demand and issue orders. According to the scholars, the prestige of Tamils
and India would go up at the global level with a declaration of Tamil as a
classical language.