THE HISTORY BEHIND TAMIL'S CLASSICAL STATUS

    

    

    Tamil is a beautiful language. It holds within it a rich culture and tradition of the Tamil clan. The language was the first to be declared the classical language of India. This upholds the pride of Tamil soil. It deserves the recognition and pride it has received. The Tamil language has a rich history. 

    VG Suryanarayana Sastriar, who changed his name to Paritimal Kalignar in pure Tamil out of love for his mother tongue, gave the clarion call to grant Tamil the status of a classical language along with Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Sanskrit in 1887. His request was addressed to the University of Madras. He gave the classical language the nomenclature 'Uyar Tani Chemmozhi'.

    Since then, Tamils have been demanding a classical status for the language. Karantai Tamil Sangam and individuals like Dr. V.C. Kulandaiswamy and Manavai Mustafa took on this arduous task. The struggle gained momentum when the then Government of Tamil Nadu decided to press the Government of India to enlist Tamil in the classical languages list. The recognition was announced by the contemporaneous President of India, Abdul Kalam, who was a Tamilian himself, in a joint sitting of both houses of the Indian Parliament on 6 June 2004. Twelfth October 2004, will remain a red-letter day in the annals of the History of Tamil Literature as the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India proclaimed that henceforth, the Tamil Language would be classified as a classical language.

    According to another order, the Ministry of Human Resources Development approved several measures to promote classical Tamil. They are the creation of a Tamil Language Promotion Board to advise the Government of India on the development of the Tamil Language, the creation of a Centre of Excellence in Classical Tamil and Dravidian Languages, the Announcement of Two Inter-National Awards and one National Award for scholars in Classical Tamil and certificate of honour to eight distinguished scholars of classical Tamil and five cash awards to young scholars of Tamil. 

    This announcement was received with joy by the Tamil-speaking world and there was a sense of fulfilment in the minds of Tamil people. The empowerment of classical status to Tamil is expected to go a long way in the development of Tamil Studies throughout the world. It will also enhance the chances of Tamil being recognized as an alternative medium in the field of Education and Administration. 

    

    Thus, the Tamil language which is the very spirit of the Tamil clan has made this land flourish in pride by getting the classical language status. May the Tamil language and the Tamil culture stand high with pride and glory for the ages to come.