| In his article under the caption "Is Astrology Scientific?", published in the Sunday issue of the Times of India, Mr. V.V. Bhujle makes an effort to convince the readers that astrology should not be condemned as a superstition until it is proved so by empirical tests. He is prepared to accept astrology as a true "science" because it was believed all over the world from ancient times, and among the believers there were and are eminent scientists. In support of his belief in astrology Bhujle writes:- It may be noted that in the 14th century a number of universities in Western Europe, among them Paris, Bologna and Florence, had chairs of astrology ...Astrology is regaining a large popular following ...Educated people in the West, especially in the United States, ask each other what sign they were born under. Astrological literature is flourishing as never before...It is difficult to deny the fact that there are many scientists and investigators who are quietly gathering astrological data and testing them in various fields...And the possibility that astrology may as well undergo a transformation from the traditional view to the modern empirical one cannot be ruled out...Carl Jung endorses the validity of astrological phenomena. Professor Jung certainly knew the origin and anatomy of superstitious beliefs better than those scientists who brand astrology as nothing more than a superstition... There was never a scientific attempt made to substantiate the statement that astrology is an exploded superstition...Before astrology can be condemned, its validity or otherwise should be empirically tested." False ConceptMr. Bhujle should realise that a false concept will never become right just because the majority of people believe it or because it is believed from ancient times, or because there are eminent scientists among the believers. Astrology originated when man’s knowledge of astronomy and the universe was wrong. Hence, astrological calculations were and are made on wrong data. Of the nine planets (navagraha) of astrologers only five are real planets. Of the remaining four, one is a star and another a satellite. The remaining two do not exist at all! How can conclusions derived from wrong data be true? Astrological charts are prepared according to the relative visual positions of the so-called planets in the twelve zodiacal constellations at the time of the birth of a person. As the solar planets and the zodiacal stars are millions of miles away from the earth their visual positions at any moment are only virtual and not real. In preparing the chart for a person astrologers make use of the wrong virtual positions of the planets. If they have the knowledge and ability to calculate and find the real positions of the planets through astronomical calculations, perhaps astrologers themselves will lose faith in their cult! Since light from planets and stars takes several minutes to millions of years to reach the earth, it is clear that astrologers’ charts are wrong by several minutes to millions of years!! Blind belief in astrology on the ground that Newton and Carl Jung believed it is as absurd as drinking urine as a curative medicine on the ground that Morarji Desai does so! Mr. Bhujle says that it is the responsibility of scientists to prove their negative statements concerning astrology. It was exactly for this purpose that I included astrology and palmistry among the 23 items of my fifteen-year-old permanent challenge, and offered an award of one lakh Sri Lanka rupees to those who could make 95 per cent or more correct predictions in a test to be conducted by me. Although I do not share Bhujle’s view that it is the duty of a scientist to prove or disprove things that do not exist I ventured to do so because astrology and palmistry have become a curse to society like all other superstitions. Can Mr. Bhujle persuade a single astrologer or palmist to face my test? I have conducted this test on many occasions, and found that astrologers and palmists cannot make better predictions than laymen who can only guess! Latest Exposure The latest empirical test on astrology and palmistry I conducted was on February 12, 1978. On reading a news item in the Ceylon Sunday Observer that a Sri Lankan, who has a flourishing business in London as a fortune-teller, succeeded in finding oil in Ghana by looking at the palm-print of the President of Ghana, I wondered whether the Government of Sri Lanka could make use of this man, while he was on a holiday here, to locate oil in Sri Lanka by looking at the palm of President Mr. J.R.Jeyewardene! Provoked by this fictitious and fantastic claim I challenged through the same paper this palmist-cum-astrologer Mr.Cyrus Abeyakoon and all other astrologers and palmists in Sri Lanka to face a test I proposed to conduct at Thurstan College Hall on February 12, 1978. To Make it attractive for them I offered to pay my usual award of one lakh rupees to those who get 95 per cent or more correct answers. Some of those who advertise regularly about their ability to make correct predictions from dates of births or palm-prints also were invited by letters to take part in the test. Four fortuneteller responded and informed me that they would be coming to take part in the test. A fifth person telephoned me and said that he would like to demonstrate publicly his power of healing through prayers to Jesus Christ. Since faith-healing was one of the 23 items of my permanent challenge, he too was asked to come. Thurstan College hall with fully packed was spectators on February 12, long before the scheduled time. Sharp at 5 p.m. the proceedings started with a preliminary talk by me about the origin and evolution of witchcraft and occultism, and the reason why I had to throw out a permanent challenge against all those who claimed occult and miraculous powers. Thereafter astrologers and palmists were asked to come on to the stage and take their seats. Only one palmist and the faith-healer came up although there were several fortune-tellers in the hall! I am sure readers will be intelligent enough to understand why those fellows who earn rupees five and ten from the public by telling their fortunes rejected my offer of one lakh! Knowing very well that they had no chance of winning my award, they did not want to risk their future practice by exposing their bluff!! A layman from the audience was requested to come up and take his seat with the others. First I introduced the faith-healer to the audience, and then requested him to keep on praying to remove a black mole at the base of my nose, while I got on with the test on palmistry. I could have asked him to pray to Jesus to heal the cancer in my bladder. But, since there was no possibility of showing the result to the audience without conducting a biopsy, I preferred the former. While the prayer of the faith-healer was going on, I pulled out two sealed envelopes form my file. One of them contained the palm-prints of both palms of ten persons prepared at my request by the Sri Lanka police, and a similar sealed cover containing the identity of the ten persons with their sex and whether they were alive or dead, attested by a responsible police officer. The other sealed cover contained a sheet of paper giving the dates and times of birth, correct to the minute, of ten persons together with the latitudes and longitudes of the places of their birth. Another sealed cover contained the necessary information about the sex and longevity of the ten persons, attested by the respective living persons, and close relatives of the dead. I broke open the seal of the first cover before the public, and gave the ten numbered palm-prints, first to the palmist and later to the layman, They were asked to mark on papers supplied which of them were males, females, dead and living. Two journalists from the audience were called up to the stage to mark the correct answers by comparing with the attested copy supplied by the police officer. The palmists got 30 per cent and the layman 20 per cent correct answers. Had I called a few more laymen to take part, at least some of them would have got even 50 per cent. Any fool could have got that much! The black mole at the base of my nose, and the one lakh of rupees are still safe with me. I am keeping the sealed cover containing the birthday data of the ten persons unopened to be used on a future occasion. Wide publicity given in local paper about the result of this test had a very healthy effect. Many fortune-tellers in Sri Lanka had to close shop due to want of patronage. Even by this type of exposition it is difficult to exterminate this type of parasites because still there will be gullible fools to consult them. The Oxonian Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mr. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, postponed his oath taking ceremony by 30 minutes at the advice of his "family astrologer". Although he took his oath at the "auspicious" time, he was assassinated before he could complete his term. Still Presidents and Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka and India will continue to take their oaths only at auspicious times fixed for them by quacks! B.V. Raman Just before my 4th "Divine Miracle Exposure Campaign" in India I wrote to Dr. B.V.Raman of Bangalore, who has earned a fortune through his Astrological Magazine, requesting him to attend any of my lectures in Bangalore to take up my challenge and show to the people of India that correct predictions could be made through astrology. Although I spoke at 8 public meetings in and around Bangalore, he came to none of them. He was intelligent enough to know the danger of facing a scientific test! Can Mr. Bhujle persuade Raman or any other "genuine" astrologer to take up my challenge?Mr. Bhujle, who says, "There was never a scientific attempt made to substantiate the statement that astrology is an exploded superstition" can himself carry out a similar test on B.V.Raman and get convinced about the myth of this ancient cult. lakh rupees : one hundred thousand rupees in India, Sri Lanka Mr. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike: former prime minister of Sri Lanka Morarji Desai : former prime minister of India Mr. J.R.Jeyewardene: former prime minister and president of Sri Lanka |
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
Is astrology scientific?
Sunday, 26 September 2010
பெரியாரின் தொலைநோக்கு
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பெரியார் சுய சிந்தனையாளர் மட்டுமல்ல; சுதந்திர சிந்தனையாளர். அவர் தொடாத துறைகளே இல்லை. முழுக்க முழுக்க மானுடத்தைப் பற்றி மட்டுமே சிந்தித்த தலைவர் ஒருவர் உலகில் உண்டென்றால், அவர் பெரியார் ஒருவர் தான். மானுடம் மானத்தோடும், மகிழ்ச்சியோடும் வாழ தனது வாழ்நாளை செலவழித்தவர் அவர்.இயந்திரங்களின் யுகம் தொடங்கிய 20 ஆம் நூற்றாண்டில் அவர் பொது வாழ்வுக்கு வந்தவர்.முதலாம் உலகப்போர், இரண்டாம் உலகப்போர், தொழிற்புரட்சி ஆகியவற்றைக் கண்டும்,கேட்டும்,அனுபவித்தும் வந்த காலத்தில் - பழம் பெருமை பேசிய இந்த நாட்டில் பகுத்தறிவைப் பேசியவர்; பரப்பியவர். உலகம் கண்ட மாற்றங்களை தனது இதழ்களில் வெளியிட்டவர்.
அவர் இங்கிலீஷ் படித்தவர் இல்லை.ஆனாலும் இங்கிலீஷ் படியுங்கள் என்றார். அது அந்தக்கால கட்டத்தின் அறிவு மொழி என்பதை உணர்ந்திருந்தார். மனித வாழ்வுக்கான வசதிகளை அளித்த இயந்திரங்கள் அப்போதுதான் இந்தியா போன்ற பின்தங்கிய நாடுகளுக்கு வரத்தொடங்கின. மனித அறிவின் கொடை வழங்கிய அந்தப் பொறிகளைப் பற்றி மக்களிடம் தனது பிரச்சாரத்தின் போது எடுத்துப் பேசுவார். உடல் உழைப்பைக் குறைத்து முன்னிலும் அதிகமான வாழ்க்கை வசதிகளை வழங்கும் வகையில் இயந்திரங்கள் உருவானால் அதனை வரவேற்பதுதான் சரி என்பது அவரது கருத்து. இந்த அடிப்படையில் தான் அவர் 1944 ஆம் ஆண்டு எழுதிய ஒரு நூல் "இனி வரும் உலகம். எதிர்கால உலகம் எப்படி இருக்கும் என்பதைப்பற்றிய பெரியாரின் தொலைநோக்குப் பார்வையே இந்த நூலின் சாரம்.
சமூகம், வாழ்க்கை, ஒழுக்கம், மனிதப்பண்பு, கல்வி, இயந்திரங்கள், அறிவியல், தொழில்நுட்பம், உலக நிலை,அரசியல் இப்படி பல்வேறு பொருள் குறித்தும் பெரியாரின் தொலைநோக்குப் பார்வையை இந்நூல் நமக்குத் தருகிறது. அவர் சொல்லிய சில மாற்றங்கள் இப்போது வந்துவிட்டன; சில கருவிகள் கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்டு மனிதர்கள் பயன்படுத்தத் தொடங்கிவிட்டார்கள். அவற்றில் சில இங்கே ....
பெரியாரின் கருத்து:
சரீரத்தால் செய்யப்பட வேண்டிய எல்லாக் காரியங்களும் அநேகமாக இயந்திரங்களாலேயே செய்யும்படியாக ஏற்பட்டுவிடும்... கக்கூஸ் எடுக்க வேண்டியதும், துலக்க வேண்டியதும், வீதி கூட்ட வேண்டியதும் கூட இயந்திரத்தினாலேயே செய்து முடித்துவிடும்.
மனிதனுக்கு பாரம் எடுக்க வேண்டியதோ, இழுக்க வேண்டியதோ ஆன காரியங்கள் இருக்கவே இருக்காது.
பெரியாரின் கருத்து:
போக்குவரவு எங்கும் ஆகாய விமானமும்; அதிவேக சாதனமு மாகவே இருக்கும்
இன்று பயன்பாட்டில்:
தமிழகத்தின் பெரும்பாலான மாநகராட்சிகளில் விமான நிலையங்கள் வந்துவிட்டன.
பெரியாரின் கருத்து:
கம்பியில்லாத் தந்தி சாதனம் ஒவ்வொருவர் சட்டைப் பையிலும் இருக்கும்
இன்று பயன்பாட்டில்:
செல்பேசிகள் (Cellphones) இல்லாதவர்களே இன்று இல்லை என்றநிலை வந்துவிட்டது.
பெரியாரின் கருத்து:
உருவத்தைத் தந்தியில் அனுப்பும்படியான சாதனம் எங்கும் மலிந்து, ஆளுக்காள் உருவம் காட்டிப் பேசிக்கொள்ளத்தக்க சவுகரியம் ஏற்படும்
இன்று பயன்பாட்டில்:
3 ஜி (3G Cellphones) எனப்படும் முகம் காட்டிப் பேசும் செல்பேசி வசதி வந்துவிட்டது.
பெரியாரின் கருத்து:
ரேடியோ ஒவ்வொருவர் தொப்பியிலும் அமைக்கப்பட்டிருக்கும்
இன்று பயன்பாட்டில்:
எஃப்.எம். ரேடியோ (FM Radio) என்னும் பண்பலை வானொலிக் கருவி மற்றும் ஐ பாட் (i pod), எம்.பி.3 பிளேயர் கருவிகள்
(mp 3,mp4,mp5 players) பயன்பாட்டில் உள்ளன.
(mp 3,mp4,mp5 players) பயன்பாட்டில் உள்ளன.
பெரியாரின் கருத்து:
விஞ்ஞான சாதனங்களால் ஓர் இடத்தில் இருந்து கொண்டே பல இடங்களில் உள்ள மக்களுக்குக் கல்வி கற்றுக் கொடுக்கச் சாத்தியப்படும்
இன்று பயன்பாட்டில்:
வீடியோ கான்பரன்ஸ் (Video Conference) மற்றும் இ லேர்னிங் (E Learning) என்னும் காணொலித் தொடர்பு மூலம் கல்வி,வணிகம்,நிர்வாக நடவடிக்கைகள் நடைபெறுகின்றன.
பெரியாரின் கருத்து:
பிள்ளைப்பேறுக்கு ஆண் பெண் சேர்க்கை என்பதுகூட நீக்கப்படலாம். நல்ல திரேகத்துடனும், புதிய நுட்பமும், அழகும், திடகாத்திரமும் உள்ள பிரஜைகள் ஏற்படும்படியாக பொலிகாளைகள்போல் தெரிந்தெடுத்து மணிபோன்ற பொலி மக்கள் வளர்க்கப்பட்டு, அவர்களது வீரியத்தை இன்ஜெக்ஷன் மூலம் பெண்கள் கருப்பைகளுக்குள் செலுத்தி நல்ல குழந்தைகளைப் பிறக்கச் செய்யப்படும். ஆண் பெண் சேர்க்கைக்கும், குழந்தை பெறுவதற்கும் சந்பந்தமில்லாமல் செய்யப்பட்டுவிடும். மக்கள் பிறப்பு கட்டுப்படுத்தப்பட்டு ஓர் அளவுக்குள் கொண்டு வந்துவிடக்கூடும்
இன்று பயன்பாட்டில்:
முதல் சோதனைக் குழாய் குழந்தை லூயிஸ் பிரவுன் 1978 ஜூலை 25 இல் பிறந்தார்.அவருக்கு இப்போது வயது32.
சோதனைக் குழாய் மூலம் குழந்தை உருவாக்கம் (Test Tube Baby) இன்று எல்லா நாடுகளிலும் வழக்கத்தில் உள்ளது.
பெரியாரின் கருத்து:
ஒரு டன்னுள்ள மோட்டார் கார், ஓர் அந்தர் வெயிட்டுக்கு வரலாம்; பெட்ரோல் செலவு குறையலாம்; பெட்ரோலுக்குப் பதில் மின்சார சக்தியே உபயோகப்படுத்தப்படலாம்; அல்லது விசை சேகரிப்பாலேயே ஓட்டப்படலாம்
இன்று பயன்பாட்டில்:
மின்சாரத்தால் இயங்கும் மகிழுந்துகள் (Electric Car), இந்தியாவில் ரேவா கார் (Reva Electric Car) வந்துவிட்டன. நேனோ டெக்னாலஜி (Nano Technology) என்னும் புதிய தொழில் நுட்பத்தால் சிறிய அளவில் பொருள்கள் உருவாக்கம் செய்யப்படுகின்றன.
உதாரணம் : டாடா நேனோ கார் (Tata Nano Car), கையடக்க மடிக்கணினிகள் (Laptop and Leaptop Computers)
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
தமிழ் மொழி
தந்தை பெரியார்
தமிழ் என்றால் என்ன? மக்களா? நாடா? மொழியா? நாட்டைப் பொறுத்து, மக்களைப் பொறுத்து மொழிக்குத் தமிழ் என்கின்ற பேர் வந்ததா? அல்லது மொழியைப் பொறுத்து நாட்டுக்கும் மக்களுக்கும் தமிழகம், தமிழ்நாடு, தமிழர் என்கின்ற பேர் வந்ததா? என்ற கேள்விகள் தமிழைப் பொறுத்தவரை வித்து முந்தியா? மரம் முந்தியா? என்ற தர்க்கத்தைப் போன்றதாகவே எனக்குத் தோன்றுகிறது. எப்படியிருந்தாலும் தமிழ்நாடு, தமிழ் மக்கள், தமிழ் மொழி என்கின்ற சொற்களைக் காண்-பதற்கு முன்பிருந்தே, இவற்றைக் காணாதவர்-களிடமிருந்து இந்த மூன்றையும் குறிக்கும்-படியாகத் திராவிடம், திராவிடர், திராவிட மொழி என்பதாகச் சொற்கள் இருந்து வந்த-தையும், வருவதையும் பார்க்கிறோம். தமிழ் மொழியும், அதன் சிதைவுகள் என்று சொல்லப்-படும் தெலுங்கு, கன்னடம், மலையாளம் ஆகிய மொழிகளும், மக்களும் நாடுகளும்கூட தமிழைச் சேர்ந்ததே என்றும் அந்தக் கருத்தைக் கொண்டே திராவிடம் என்று பொதுவாகச் சொல்லப்படுகிறது என்றும் அகராதிகளும்; ஆராய்ச்சி உரைகளும் கூறுகின்றன. நாட்டிலும் இதை வெகு காலமாகவே ஒப்புக்கொண்டு வழக்கத்திலும் கொண்டு வந்திருக்கிறோம். வடமொழி ஆதாரங்களான இலக்கியம், இதிகாசம், புராணம் ஆகியவற்றிலும், திராவிடம் என்ற சொற்கள் தமிழ் மொழியையும், நாட்டையும் மக்களையும் குறிக்கப் பழங்காலத்தி-லிருந்தே பயன்படுத்தப்-பட்டிருப்-பதைக் காண்கி-றோம். தேச சரித்திரங்களிலும் திராவிடர், திராவிடம் என்ற சொற்கள் தமிழர், தமிழ்நாடு என்பவற்றிற்குப் பதிலாக உபயோகப்படுத்தப்-பட்டு வந்திருக்கிறதையும் நாம் காண்கிறோம். ஆனால், தெலுங்கு நாட்டாராகிய ஆந்திரர்-களும் கன்னட நாட்டாராகிய கன்னடியர்களும், மலையாள நாட்டாராகிய மலையாளிகளும் இதை ஒப்புக்கொள்ளத் தயங்குகிறார்கள். தெலுங்கு, கன்னடம், மலையாளம் என்பதுபோல், தமிழும் ஒரு மொழி என்றுதான் சொல்கிறார்-களே ஒழிய, இவையாவும் தமிழ்தான் என்பதை ஒப்புக்கொள்ள வெட்கப்படுகிறார்கள். சிலர் மறுக்கவும் செய்கிறார்கள். காரணம் அவர்களது மொழியில் ஆரியச் சொற்கள் பெரும்பான்-மையாகக் கலந்துவிட்டன. ஆதியில் ஒரே கூட்டமாக வாழ்ந்த திராவிட மக்கள், இட நெருக்கத்தால் பல பிரிவுகளாகப் பிரிந்து சென்று ஆங்காங்கு குடிவாழவும், அந்தந்த இடத்தின் சீதோஷ்ண நிலைக்கேற்ப அவர்களது மொழியில் சில நீட்டலும், குறுக்கலும் ஏற்படவும், அக்காலத்தியப் போக்கு-வரத்து வசதிக் குறைவு காரணமாக ஒரு பகுதிக்கும், மற்றோர் பகுதிக்கும் தொடர்-பில்லாமற் போனதால் நாளடைவில் அந்தந்த இடத்தில் வடநாட்டிலிருந்து வந்து குடியேறிய ஆரியப் பார்ப்பனர்கள் தமது மொழிக்குக் கடவுள் பேரால் பல மகத்துவங்களை எடுத்துக்-கூறி, அந்தந்தப் பிரதேச மக்களைக் கொஞ்சம் கொஞ்சமாக வடமொழியை அதிகமாக உபயோகப்-படுத்தும்படிச் செய்து, அதன் மூலம் தமது கலை ஆச்சார அனுஷ்டானம் ஆகியவை-களைப் பு-குத்திவிட்டனர். அந்த வடமொழிக் கலப்புக் காரணமாகவும், அந்தக் கலாச்சாரப் பண்பு-களினால் ஏற்பட்ட பற்றுதல் காரண-மாகவும், அந்தந்த மக்களுக்குத் தமது மொழி தமிழ் அல்லாத வேறு மொழியேயாகும் என்ற கருத்தும் ஏற்பட்டிருக்கிறது.
ஒரு பொருளுக்குப் பல சொல்
ஆனால், என் சிற்றறிவிற்கு, என் அனுபவத்-திற்கு, ஆராய்ச்சிக்கு, தமிழ் தெலுங்கு, கன்னடம், மலையாளம் ஆகிய நான்கும் தனித்தனி மொழிகளென்றோ அல்லது தமிழ் தவிர மற்ற மூன்றும் தமிழிலிருந்து பிரிந்த மொழிக-ளென்றோ தோன்றவில்லை. ஒரே மொழி-_அதாவது தமிழ்தான் நாலு இடங்களில் நாலு-விதமாகப் பேசப்பட்டு வருகிறது என்றே நான் அபிப்பிராயப்படுகிறேன். உதாரணமாக, இங்கு தோட்டத்திற்குப் போகிறேன் என்றால் வயலுக்கு, விளை நிலத்திற்குப் போகிறேன் என்று அர்த்தம். கொல்லைக்குப் போகிறேன் என்றால் கக்கூசுக்குப் போகிறேன் என்று அர்த்தம். சோழ நாட்டில் தோட்டத்திற்குப் போவ-தென்றால். கக்கூசுக்குப் போவதாகவும், கொல்லைக்குப் போவதென்றால் வயலுக்குப் போவதாகவும் அர்த்தம் செய்து கொள்வார்கள். ஒரே தமிழ்ச் சொல் இரண்டு இடங்களில் வெவ்வேறு பொருளில் வழங்குகிறது. இதே-போல் தமிழில் வீடு என்பதைத் தெலுங்கில் இல் என்றும், கன்னடத்தில் மனை என்றும் மலையாளத்தில் பொறை என்றும் கூறுவார்கள். இந்த நான்கையும் தமிழ் அகராதியில் வீட்டிற்குரிய பல பெயர்களாகக் காணலாம். இதே போல் நீர் என்ற, தண்ணீர் என்று பொருள்படும் தமிழ் வார்த்தைக்கு, கன்னடத்தில் நீரு என்றும், தெலுங்கில் நீள்ளு என்றும், மலையாளத்தில் வெள்ளம் என்றும் கூறுவார்-கள். மலையாளத்தில் மழை அதிகம். ஆதலால், தண்ணீரை அவர்கள் எப்போதும் பெருத்த அளவில்தான் பார்ப்பார்கள். ஆதலால், தமிழில் பெருந்தண்ணீர்ப் போக்குள்ள பெயரை அங்கு நீருக்கு வழங்குகிறார்கள். இந்த மாதிரித் தமிழ் வார்த்தைகள் அந்தந்த இடத்திலுள்ள சீதோஷ்ண நிலைக்கேற்ப, பேச்சுப் பழக்கத்துக்கு ஏற்ப உச்சரிப்பில் சிறிது மாற்றமடைந்-திருக்கிறதே தவிர வேறில்லை. இதனால் வெவ்வேறு மொழியாகிவிடமுடியுமா? ஒரு பொருளுக்குப் பல சொல் இருந்தால் ஒவ்வொரு சொல்லும் ஒரு மொழியாகிவிடுமா?
நாலு மொழிகளிலும் தேர்ச்சிப் பெற்ற பண்டிதர்களைக் கொண்டு, அந்தந்த மொழியி-லுள்ள வடமொழி வார்த்தைகள் அத்தனை-யையும் நீக்கிவிட்டுப் பார்த்தால், எஞ்சி நிற்கும் வார்த்தைகள் அத்தனையும் அநேகமாகத் தமிழ்ச்சொற்களாகவே இருக்குமென்று என்னால் அறுதியிட்டுக் கூறமுடியும். அகராதி-கொண்டு மெய்ப்பிக்கவும் முடியும். சமீப காலம் வரையிலும்கூட அவற்றுக்கு எழுத்தோ, இலக்கிய-மோ இருந்ததில்லை. தெலுங்கு வைணவர்கள் சமீப காலம் வரை, தமிழ்ச் சப்தத்தில்தான் நாலாயிரப் பிரபந்தங்களையும், திருப்பா-வையையும் தெலுங்கு எழுத்தில் படித்துப் பாடி வந்திருக்கின்றனர். அந்தப் புத்தகங்கள் தெலுங்-கெழுத்தில் தமிழ்ச் சப்தத்தில்தான் அச்சிடப்-பட்டிருக்கின்றன. கன்னடியர்களுக்கும், மலையாளி-களுக்கும் முதல் நூலே கிடையாது. வட-நாட்டு ஆதிக்கமும், வடமொழி மோகமும் குறையக் குறைய ஆந்திரர்களும், மலையாளி-களும், கன்னடியர்களும் தம் தாய் மொழி தமிழ்தான் என்பதைக் கொஞ்சம் கொஞ்சமாக உணர்ந்து கொள்வார்கள் என்பதில் எனக்குத் திடமான நம்பிக்கையுண்டு. அந்தந்த மொழி வல்லுநர்கள், பண்டிதர்கள் சிலர் இன்று ஓரளவு இந்த உண்மையை ஒப்புக்கொண்டு உள்ளார்கள் என்பது நமக்கு, மேலும் நம் கருத்துக்கு வலிமையை ஊட்டுகிறது. இத்தமிழ் மொழியின் வளர்ச்சிக்குப் புத்துயிர் அளித்த ஒரு பெரிய இயக்கத்தை நான் நடத்தினேன். அதாவது, தமிழ் மொழி தாய்மொழியாக உள்ள இந்நாட்டில் ஹிந்தியைப் புகுத்தக்கூடாது என்று கிளர்ச்சி செய்தேன்.
இந்தியை ஏன் எதிர்த்தேன்?
அது என் தாய் மொழிப் பற்றுதலுக்காக என்று அல்ல; அது என் நாட்டு மொழி என்-பதற்காக அல்ல; சிவபெருமானால் பேசப்பட்டது என்பதற்காக அல்ல; அகத்திய முனியால் திருத்தப்பட்டதென்பதற்காக அல்ல; மந்திரச் சக்தி நிறைந்தது, எலும்புக்கூட்டைப் பெண்-ணாக்கிக் கொடுக்கும் என்பதற்காக அல்ல, பின் எதற்காக? தமிழ், இந்நாட்டுச் சீதோஷ்ண நிலைக்-கேற்ப அமைந்துள்ளது. இந்நாட்டு நல்வாழ்வுக்கு, பண்புக்கு ஏற்ப அமைந்துள்ளது. மூடநம்பிக்கையை உண்டாக்கும் கருத்துகளுக்குத் தமிழ் மொழியில் இடம் இல்லை. இந்திய நாட்டுப் பிற எம் மொழியையும்விடத் தமிழ் நாகரிகம் பெற்று விளங்குகிறது. தூயதமிழ் பேசுவதால், மற்ற வேற்றுமொழிச் சொற்களை நீக்கிப் பேசுவதால் நம்மிடையேயுள்ள இழிவுகள் நீங்குவதோடு, மேலும் மேலும் பல நன்மையடை-வோம் என்பதோடு; நம் பழக்கவழக்கங்-களுக்கேற்ப நம் மொழி அமைந்திருக்கிறது. வேறு மொழியைப் புகுத்திக்கொள்வதன் மூலம் நம் அமைப்புக் கெடுவதோடு, அம்மொழியமைப்-பிலுள்ள நம் நலனுக்குப் புறம்பான கருத்துகள், கேடுபயக்கும் கருத்துகள் நம்மிடைப் புகுந்து, நம்மை இழிவடையச் செய்கின்றன என்பதால்-தான். வடமொழியில் நம்மை மேலும் மேலும் அடிமையாக்கும் தன்மை அமைந்-திருப்-பதால்தான் அதையும் கூடாதென்கிறேன். நமது மேன்மைக்கு, நமது தகுதிக்கு, நமது முற்போக்-குக்கு ஏற்ற மொழி தமிழைவிட, மேலான ஒரு மொழி இந்நாட்டிலில்லை என்பதற்காகவே தமிழை விரும்புகிறேனே தவிர, அது அற்புத அதிசயங்களை விளைவிக்கக்கூடியது என்-பதற்காக அல்ல.
(எழுத்துச் சீர்திருத்தம் நூலிலிருந்து...)
தமிழ் என்றால் என்ன? மக்களா? நாடா? மொழியா? நாட்டைப் பொறுத்து, மக்களைப் பொறுத்து மொழிக்குத் தமிழ் என்கின்ற பேர் வந்ததா? அல்லது மொழியைப் பொறுத்து நாட்டுக்கும் மக்களுக்கும் தமிழகம், தமிழ்நாடு, தமிழர் என்கின்ற பேர் வந்ததா? என்ற கேள்விகள் தமிழைப் பொறுத்தவரை வித்து முந்தியா? மரம் முந்தியா? என்ற தர்க்கத்தைப் போன்றதாகவே எனக்குத் தோன்றுகிறது. எப்படியிருந்தாலும் தமிழ்நாடு, தமிழ் மக்கள், தமிழ் மொழி என்கின்ற சொற்களைக் காண்-பதற்கு முன்பிருந்தே, இவற்றைக் காணாதவர்-களிடமிருந்து இந்த மூன்றையும் குறிக்கும்-படியாகத் திராவிடம், திராவிடர், திராவிட மொழி என்பதாகச் சொற்கள் இருந்து வந்த-தையும், வருவதையும் பார்க்கிறோம். தமிழ் மொழியும், அதன் சிதைவுகள் என்று சொல்லப்-படும் தெலுங்கு, கன்னடம், மலையாளம் ஆகிய மொழிகளும், மக்களும் நாடுகளும்கூட தமிழைச் சேர்ந்ததே என்றும் அந்தக் கருத்தைக் கொண்டே திராவிடம் என்று பொதுவாகச் சொல்லப்படுகிறது என்றும் அகராதிகளும்; ஆராய்ச்சி உரைகளும் கூறுகின்றன. நாட்டிலும் இதை வெகு காலமாகவே ஒப்புக்கொண்டு வழக்கத்திலும் கொண்டு வந்திருக்கிறோம். வடமொழி ஆதாரங்களான இலக்கியம், இதிகாசம், புராணம் ஆகியவற்றிலும், திராவிடம் என்ற சொற்கள் தமிழ் மொழியையும், நாட்டையும் மக்களையும் குறிக்கப் பழங்காலத்தி-லிருந்தே பயன்படுத்தப்-பட்டிருப்-பதைக் காண்கி-றோம். தேச சரித்திரங்களிலும் திராவிடர், திராவிடம் என்ற சொற்கள் தமிழர், தமிழ்நாடு என்பவற்றிற்குப் பதிலாக உபயோகப்படுத்தப்-பட்டு வந்திருக்கிறதையும் நாம் காண்கிறோம். ஆனால், தெலுங்கு நாட்டாராகிய ஆந்திரர்-களும் கன்னட நாட்டாராகிய கன்னடியர்களும், மலையாள நாட்டாராகிய மலையாளிகளும் இதை ஒப்புக்கொள்ளத் தயங்குகிறார்கள். தெலுங்கு, கன்னடம், மலையாளம் என்பதுபோல், தமிழும் ஒரு மொழி என்றுதான் சொல்கிறார்-களே ஒழிய, இவையாவும் தமிழ்தான் என்பதை ஒப்புக்கொள்ள வெட்கப்படுகிறார்கள். சிலர் மறுக்கவும் செய்கிறார்கள். காரணம் அவர்களது மொழியில் ஆரியச் சொற்கள் பெரும்பான்-மையாகக் கலந்துவிட்டன. ஆதியில் ஒரே கூட்டமாக வாழ்ந்த திராவிட மக்கள், இட நெருக்கத்தால் பல பிரிவுகளாகப் பிரிந்து சென்று ஆங்காங்கு குடிவாழவும், அந்தந்த இடத்தின் சீதோஷ்ண நிலைக்கேற்ப அவர்களது மொழியில் சில நீட்டலும், குறுக்கலும் ஏற்படவும், அக்காலத்தியப் போக்கு-வரத்து வசதிக் குறைவு காரணமாக ஒரு பகுதிக்கும், மற்றோர் பகுதிக்கும் தொடர்-பில்லாமற் போனதால் நாளடைவில் அந்தந்த இடத்தில் வடநாட்டிலிருந்து வந்து குடியேறிய ஆரியப் பார்ப்பனர்கள் தமது மொழிக்குக் கடவுள் பேரால் பல மகத்துவங்களை எடுத்துக்-கூறி, அந்தந்தப் பிரதேச மக்களைக் கொஞ்சம் கொஞ்சமாக வடமொழியை அதிகமாக உபயோகப்-படுத்தும்படிச் செய்து, அதன் மூலம் தமது கலை ஆச்சார அனுஷ்டானம் ஆகியவை-களைப் பு-குத்திவிட்டனர். அந்த வடமொழிக் கலப்புக் காரணமாகவும், அந்தக் கலாச்சாரப் பண்பு-களினால் ஏற்பட்ட பற்றுதல் காரண-மாகவும், அந்தந்த மக்களுக்குத் தமது மொழி தமிழ் அல்லாத வேறு மொழியேயாகும் என்ற கருத்தும் ஏற்பட்டிருக்கிறது.
ஒரு பொருளுக்குப் பல சொல்
ஆனால், என் சிற்றறிவிற்கு, என் அனுபவத்-திற்கு, ஆராய்ச்சிக்கு, தமிழ் தெலுங்கு, கன்னடம், மலையாளம் ஆகிய நான்கும் தனித்தனி மொழிகளென்றோ அல்லது தமிழ் தவிர மற்ற மூன்றும் தமிழிலிருந்து பிரிந்த மொழிக-ளென்றோ தோன்றவில்லை. ஒரே மொழி-_அதாவது தமிழ்தான் நாலு இடங்களில் நாலு-விதமாகப் பேசப்பட்டு வருகிறது என்றே நான் அபிப்பிராயப்படுகிறேன். உதாரணமாக, இங்கு தோட்டத்திற்குப் போகிறேன் என்றால் வயலுக்கு, விளை நிலத்திற்குப் போகிறேன் என்று அர்த்தம். கொல்லைக்குப் போகிறேன் என்றால் கக்கூசுக்குப் போகிறேன் என்று அர்த்தம். சோழ நாட்டில் தோட்டத்திற்குப் போவ-தென்றால். கக்கூசுக்குப் போவதாகவும், கொல்லைக்குப் போவதென்றால் வயலுக்குப் போவதாகவும் அர்த்தம் செய்து கொள்வார்கள். ஒரே தமிழ்ச் சொல் இரண்டு இடங்களில் வெவ்வேறு பொருளில் வழங்குகிறது. இதே-போல் தமிழில் வீடு என்பதைத் தெலுங்கில் இல் என்றும், கன்னடத்தில் மனை என்றும் மலையாளத்தில் பொறை என்றும் கூறுவார்கள். இந்த நான்கையும் தமிழ் அகராதியில் வீட்டிற்குரிய பல பெயர்களாகக் காணலாம். இதே போல் நீர் என்ற, தண்ணீர் என்று பொருள்படும் தமிழ் வார்த்தைக்கு, கன்னடத்தில் நீரு என்றும், தெலுங்கில் நீள்ளு என்றும், மலையாளத்தில் வெள்ளம் என்றும் கூறுவார்-கள். மலையாளத்தில் மழை அதிகம். ஆதலால், தண்ணீரை அவர்கள் எப்போதும் பெருத்த அளவில்தான் பார்ப்பார்கள். ஆதலால், தமிழில் பெருந்தண்ணீர்ப் போக்குள்ள பெயரை அங்கு நீருக்கு வழங்குகிறார்கள். இந்த மாதிரித் தமிழ் வார்த்தைகள் அந்தந்த இடத்திலுள்ள சீதோஷ்ண நிலைக்கேற்ப, பேச்சுப் பழக்கத்துக்கு ஏற்ப உச்சரிப்பில் சிறிது மாற்றமடைந்-திருக்கிறதே தவிர வேறில்லை. இதனால் வெவ்வேறு மொழியாகிவிடமுடியுமா? ஒரு பொருளுக்குப் பல சொல் இருந்தால் ஒவ்வொரு சொல்லும் ஒரு மொழியாகிவிடுமா?
நாலு மொழிகளிலும் தேர்ச்சிப் பெற்ற பண்டிதர்களைக் கொண்டு, அந்தந்த மொழியி-லுள்ள வடமொழி வார்த்தைகள் அத்தனை-யையும் நீக்கிவிட்டுப் பார்த்தால், எஞ்சி நிற்கும் வார்த்தைகள் அத்தனையும் அநேகமாகத் தமிழ்ச்சொற்களாகவே இருக்குமென்று என்னால் அறுதியிட்டுக் கூறமுடியும். அகராதி-கொண்டு மெய்ப்பிக்கவும் முடியும். சமீப காலம் வரையிலும்கூட அவற்றுக்கு எழுத்தோ, இலக்கிய-மோ இருந்ததில்லை. தெலுங்கு வைணவர்கள் சமீப காலம் வரை, தமிழ்ச் சப்தத்தில்தான் நாலாயிரப் பிரபந்தங்களையும், திருப்பா-வையையும் தெலுங்கு எழுத்தில் படித்துப் பாடி வந்திருக்கின்றனர். அந்தப் புத்தகங்கள் தெலுங்-கெழுத்தில் தமிழ்ச் சப்தத்தில்தான் அச்சிடப்-பட்டிருக்கின்றன. கன்னடியர்களுக்கும், மலையாளி-களுக்கும் முதல் நூலே கிடையாது. வட-நாட்டு ஆதிக்கமும், வடமொழி மோகமும் குறையக் குறைய ஆந்திரர்களும், மலையாளி-களும், கன்னடியர்களும் தம் தாய் மொழி தமிழ்தான் என்பதைக் கொஞ்சம் கொஞ்சமாக உணர்ந்து கொள்வார்கள் என்பதில் எனக்குத் திடமான நம்பிக்கையுண்டு. அந்தந்த மொழி வல்லுநர்கள், பண்டிதர்கள் சிலர் இன்று ஓரளவு இந்த உண்மையை ஒப்புக்கொண்டு உள்ளார்கள் என்பது நமக்கு, மேலும் நம் கருத்துக்கு வலிமையை ஊட்டுகிறது. இத்தமிழ் மொழியின் வளர்ச்சிக்குப் புத்துயிர் அளித்த ஒரு பெரிய இயக்கத்தை நான் நடத்தினேன். அதாவது, தமிழ் மொழி தாய்மொழியாக உள்ள இந்நாட்டில் ஹிந்தியைப் புகுத்தக்கூடாது என்று கிளர்ச்சி செய்தேன்.
இந்தியை ஏன் எதிர்த்தேன்?
அது என் தாய் மொழிப் பற்றுதலுக்காக என்று அல்ல; அது என் நாட்டு மொழி என்-பதற்காக அல்ல; சிவபெருமானால் பேசப்பட்டது என்பதற்காக அல்ல; அகத்திய முனியால் திருத்தப்பட்டதென்பதற்காக அல்ல; மந்திரச் சக்தி நிறைந்தது, எலும்புக்கூட்டைப் பெண்-ணாக்கிக் கொடுக்கும் என்பதற்காக அல்ல, பின் எதற்காக? தமிழ், இந்நாட்டுச் சீதோஷ்ண நிலைக்-கேற்ப அமைந்துள்ளது. இந்நாட்டு நல்வாழ்வுக்கு, பண்புக்கு ஏற்ப அமைந்துள்ளது. மூடநம்பிக்கையை உண்டாக்கும் கருத்துகளுக்குத் தமிழ் மொழியில் இடம் இல்லை. இந்திய நாட்டுப் பிற எம் மொழியையும்விடத் தமிழ் நாகரிகம் பெற்று விளங்குகிறது. தூயதமிழ் பேசுவதால், மற்ற வேற்றுமொழிச் சொற்களை நீக்கிப் பேசுவதால் நம்மிடையேயுள்ள இழிவுகள் நீங்குவதோடு, மேலும் மேலும் பல நன்மையடை-வோம் என்பதோடு; நம் பழக்கவழக்கங்-களுக்கேற்ப நம் மொழி அமைந்திருக்கிறது. வேறு மொழியைப் புகுத்திக்கொள்வதன் மூலம் நம் அமைப்புக் கெடுவதோடு, அம்மொழியமைப்-பிலுள்ள நம் நலனுக்குப் புறம்பான கருத்துகள், கேடுபயக்கும் கருத்துகள் நம்மிடைப் புகுந்து, நம்மை இழிவடையச் செய்கின்றன என்பதால்-தான். வடமொழியில் நம்மை மேலும் மேலும் அடிமையாக்கும் தன்மை அமைந்-திருப்-பதால்தான் அதையும் கூடாதென்கிறேன். நமது மேன்மைக்கு, நமது தகுதிக்கு, நமது முற்போக்-குக்கு ஏற்ற மொழி தமிழைவிட, மேலான ஒரு மொழி இந்நாட்டிலில்லை என்பதற்காகவே தமிழை விரும்புகிறேனே தவிர, அது அற்புத அதிசயங்களை விளைவிக்கக்கூடியது என்-பதற்காக அல்ல.
(எழுத்துச் சீர்திருத்தம் நூலிலிருந்து...)
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Periyar on Social Reform
posted by Mukilan Murugasan
To discard what is unwanted, and to retain what is needed, is what reform means.
Social reform cannot stand apart from politics, nor can politics stand apart from social reform. Politics exists only for human society. Every political activity is only for social good. Constitutional law and defence are made only for society and in accordance with social good.
Tentative and superficial changes here and there, in the same name of social reform, will not bear fruit. The present social set-up should be destroyed as its very base, and a new social order, free from caste and class, should be created.
Whomsoever I love and hate, my principle is the same. That is, the educated, the rich and the administrators should not suck the blood of the poor.
The proper task of social reform is to remove poverty from society and to ensure that people do not sell their conscience
To discard what is unwanted, and to retain what is needed, is what reform means.
Social reform cannot stand apart from politics, nor can politics stand apart from social reform. Politics exists only for human society. Every political activity is only for social good. Constitutional law and defence are made only for society and in accordance with social good.
Tentative and superficial changes here and there, in the same name of social reform, will not bear fruit. The present social set-up should be destroyed as its very base, and a new social order, free from caste and class, should be created.
Whomsoever I love and hate, my principle is the same. That is, the educated, the rich and the administrators should not suck the blood of the poor.
The proper task of social reform is to remove poverty from society and to ensure that people do not sell their conscience
Periyar on Science
posted by Mukilan Murugasan
Look at the enormous change in our life today. Our comforts in daily life have vastly improved. Formerly, we had only the bullock cart. Now we have such modern comforts as the locomotive, the motorcar and aeroplane. We struck flints to make a fire, but now, the pressing of a button makes a thousand electric lights burn. Our people understanding, despite so much change in life, remains just as it was a thousand years ago!.
Even those, who some time ago believed all the stories about God, that is who believed that divine power exist, have now come to be so ashamed of their own belief, that hiding their ignorance, they are now struggling heard to prove those stories as scientifically true.
He, who first created fire with the help of flints, was the “Edition” of those days. Thereafter, we advanced step by step and we now have fire through electricity. Thus, change is natural and inevitable, and no can one stop it.
A big change should come about in our country on the food front. We must certainly discover a chemical product as substitute for rice. We first used steam power, with the help of fire, to drive an engine. Now we are using kerosene, crude oil, petrol, electricity for power. In a like manner, the human engine, without being driven by huge intake of food, can be activated by and made to subsist on some fine source of energy, similar to electricity.
Hereafter, even human birth will be rare. Similarly death rate also will decrease. Man can easily live for a hundred years on an average. No one will have more than two children. There will be no correlation between sexual relationship and child-birth.
Look at the enormous change in our life today. Our comforts in daily life have vastly improved. Formerly, we had only the bullock cart. Now we have such modern comforts as the locomotive, the motorcar and aeroplane. We struck flints to make a fire, but now, the pressing of a button makes a thousand electric lights burn. Our people understanding, despite so much change in life, remains just as it was a thousand years ago!.
Even those, who some time ago believed all the stories about God, that is who believed that divine power exist, have now come to be so ashamed of their own belief, that hiding their ignorance, they are now struggling heard to prove those stories as scientifically true.
He, who first created fire with the help of flints, was the “Edition” of those days. Thereafter, we advanced step by step and we now have fire through electricity. Thus, change is natural and inevitable, and no can one stop it.
A big change should come about in our country on the food front. We must certainly discover a chemical product as substitute for rice. We first used steam power, with the help of fire, to drive an engine. Now we are using kerosene, crude oil, petrol, electricity for power. In a like manner, the human engine, without being driven by huge intake of food, can be activated by and made to subsist on some fine source of energy, similar to electricity.
Hereafter, even human birth will be rare. Similarly death rate also will decrease. Man can easily live for a hundred years on an average. No one will have more than two children. There will be no correlation between sexual relationship and child-birth.
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Islam is the Antidote!
An analysis of Periyar's views on IslamBy: KHAN YASIR
E.V. Ramaswamy alias Periyar was a Dravidian social reformer and politician from India, who founded the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. Introducing him, G. Aloysius wrote that he “was an uncompromising iconoclast, a consistent rationalist and an untiring socio-cultural reformer of the previous century”. On religion, Periyar is considered the Voltaire of South India. Because, like Voltaire, he opposed religion virulently; as in his views the so-called men of religion have exploited religion to exploit common, ingenuous and ignorant masses. He has been a harsh critic of the Aryan influenced Hinduism in Tamil Nadu and spoke appreciatively about faiths of Buddhism, Christianity and especially Islam. He has proposed Islam as the most viable alternative to Brahminical Hinduism.
AN ATHEIST OR NOT?
Periyar has been considered to be a prophet of atheism especially for the downtrodden in South India. But this image of him as being a ‘prophet of atheism’ is far from the truth. To quote G. Aloysius, “While he (Periyar) was alive and active, many stood to lose in several ways because of his nearly three quarters of a century long campaign against the oppressive native religio-cultural practices in general, but the most vicious social irrationality of the Indian society that is the system and spirit of caste in particular, projected him as a rabid atheist of the mould of the 19th century west. This they did in order to de-legitimise him with the masses, who it was generally presumed were “inclined towards things godly and religious” – after all Periyar himself vigorously negated the charges of atheism or any intentions of propagating godlessness. He was a vocal rebel of Hindu society whose voice reverberated with all strength and determination against Brahminical Hinduism.
But in his personal views he was more akin to atheism. He was an atheist or he was not? Readers must have been perplexed by now. At the end of the day he was a believer in no religion in his personal capacity and in this respect he was technically an atheist (only ‘technically’ because in common parlance the word atheist is not only used for a person who does not believe in God but also for those people who hate God or who are anti-God). But “he (Periyar) was not out to preach to the public what he believed or practised in his personal life, that is atheism”.
“Periyar’s target,” elaborates Aloysius, “was specific and contextual – the deleterious and disastrous effect that the dominant ‘religion’ of his day was having on the social life of the people”. He was not opposed to religion as such but only to “such” religions, in his own words, “Intoxication from such religion is more ruinous than that of liquor. Liquor destroys only him who drinks it, but religion destroys him who merely thinks it” (emphasis added). The definition of “such” religion is a religion that promotes caste distinctions, that is opposed to rational enquiry; that is opposed to fraternity; that is opposed to equality.
Since his childhood Periyar saw the atrocities on people belonging to lower castes. His studies concluded that if one has to come out of the shackles of caste, he has to accept Islam. His speeches, writings and sincere pleas to the people to embrace Islam are enough a proof that he was sincere in his appeals and was not mere ‘threatening’ the religious authorities as is commonly believed.
It was because of this alleged discrepancy in his thoughts (regarding religion and atheism) and even propaganda by his opponents that his movement for religious reform – or conversion – to put it more blatantly – did not produce the impact it was otherwise bound to generate. He was particularly hauled over the coals when he put forward his controversial proposal of conversion to Islam as the antidote to the despicable status of Shudras.
But before proceeding further and analysing his views on Islam, one thing should be made clear that his angle and outlook – as he was personally a nastik (atheist) and not a believer in Islam – too was materialistic. To him Islam was no divine-truth, criterion-of-right-and-wrong, a code of conduct decreed by Almighty God. It was only a religion of a powerful community with self respect, a religion that preaches equality and fraternity. In fact it could be safely said that like many other scholars and thinkers of his era, he was interested in “seen” rather than “unseen” of Islam. And truly, be it a scholar or commoner outside the pale of Islam, one could see only the “seen” of Islam; and it is this “seen” generally, which leads to the belief in the “unseen” – if only a conducive environment is provided in which a person is able to apply his rationality without being affected by biases and prejudices.
PERIYAR ON ISLAM
In a speech delivered at Erode (his hometown) in 1929 he said, “It is only superstition to believe that on account of religion that if a Hindu consumes cow’s meat, it is sin and if a Mohammaden does, it is no sin; both the beliefs have no meaning. All religions of the world are raised on superstition... I am pleased, not on the basis of sin or virtue or heaven or hell.” In the same speech he went on making his point that he is pleased because a few of adi-dravidians converted from the Hindu religion and truly “they are liberated” from what he called “an animal state of idiocy and uncivilisation”.
At the end of his lecture he concluded, “Therefore until the Hindu society achieves true equality and unity there is no way out for untouchables other than becoming Muslims in crowd”.
In a speech delivered at Trichirapalli 1947, he was more perspicuous in his ideas and suggestions. The solutions like bringing Shudras to the mainstream and ‘inculcating’ in them self respect etc. by different day dreaming Hindu reformers was in general scoffed at by him as ‘sleep-inducing & soporific drugs’ that could reduce pain for the time being but the core problem will nevertheless persist. The problem, “has only one remedy and that remedy is Islam” – he declared unequivocally.
He commented rightly and thereby threw a light upon the tragic plight of Indian Muslims that have made (especially in that era) their religion a ‘closed commodity’ a hereditary religion like Judaism. Periyar demolishes this by arguing that Muslims of India are not proprietors of Islam. Muslims are in India, Egypt, Abyssinia, Japan, Germany, etc. And for all of them there is no God but one and that too without form.
He said, “What is common to all; fraternity, equal rights and discipline and all the rest depends upon the traditions of the different countries.” In the same speech he made a controversial and absolutely untrue remark – either to please and sooth masses or due to lack of understanding of Islam that, “if you in the dravidanadu become Islamic, then that Islam would be what we determine it to be….” Both the sentences read together could be considered a plea of a doctor who wants his patient to take the medicine anyhow, even by declaring that it tastes like a vanilla ice-cream.
In response to the flooding letters and people for an argument over his speeches in Trichy, he wrote a piece in which he succinctly analysed – WHY ONLY ISLAM?
First he took a leaf out of prevalent environment of hatred of Hindus towards Islam (take note of the fact that those were the days of two-nation theory, communalism and partition, when, as opposed to Muslim communalism, two nation-theory and other factors, the saffron brigade was successful in rallying the Hindu masses behind it.) He raised some of the most pertinent questions.
Some of his pungent sentences are quoted as below. “The reason behind the hatred of the Hindus toward the Muslims today is their hatred of Islam itself. Because Islam is contrary to the Aryan religion (Hinduism), the Hindus (the Aryans) hate Islam. It is contrary because Islam demolishes the very foundation of the Hindu religion. For the Aryan religion, which is also called Hindu religion, there are so many gods having also as many forms. And among the people there are several caste discriminations. The caste has been devised according to circumstances of birth. The people are divided into higher and lower castes such as Brahmin, Shudra and Panchaman (Pariah). It is in accordance with this principle that we have become members of low caste.
“In Islam, on the other hand, there is no Brahmin (high caste) or Shudra (low caste) or Panchama (least caste). In other words, Islam is founded on the principle of one god and one caste, that is, one family and one divinity. It could also be said that such a principle belongs to and needed for the Dravidians. The so-called Hindu (Aryan) religion is based on many gods and many castes, which are also created by the gods. Through this arrangement of many gods – many castes, the Aryans (the Brahmins) get good benefits and privileges.
“The Dravidians, on the other hand, find only ruin, degradation and obstacle to human rights. It is for this reason the Islamic principle is very odious to Brahmins. For the Dravidians, on the contrary, Islam is opportune for the removal of degradation and achievement of welfare. Therefore the Brahmins, the Aryans are constrained to hate Islam”.
What about Christianity? One could think that it also (principally) does not believe in caste and inequalities. But ground realities – of which Periyar was very much aware – were telling a different story. Periyar also appreciated Christianity a great deal in comparison to the Aryan religion. Nevertheless he also acknowledged, “If people leave Hinduism, they should follow some other religion. What religion should be recommended to people? Christianity was more like the Brahmin religion, so I recommended Islam to people. Because, in Christianity there are untouchable Christians, Nadar Christians, Vellala Christians and so on. So even in Christianity there are differences followed based on Varnashrama Dharma; so, in India, it is Hindu Christianity! If the Depressed Classes embraced Islam, they would get social equality in a very short period.”
He accused the Brahminical order that was bent upon perpetuating caste distinctions in Indian society and said that they had made “us all enemies of Islam by projecting it as devilish, satanic and monstrous”. He rightly asks, “Which reform or good effort that we want to undertake and Islam prevents?”
The opposition to his ‘rebellious’ and ‘blasphemous’ thoughts did not halt and answering an uncivilised letter full of abuses and scurrilous words, Periyar is forced to ask, “Why at the mention of Islam, agitate like a bull that has seen red?” he argued that he is advising only those people to embrace Islam who hate Shudra-tag and believe that Dravidian society should have self respect and human feeling”. He challenges, “If there is any alternative method, please go and demonstrate.” The failure of all attempts – that include the attempts of Gandhi (to bring Shudras to the mainstream of Hinduism) and of Ambedkar (mass conversion to Buddhism) – has vindicated Periyar. Periyar was sure on his conclusion that Islam is the ultimate solution for all the evils of a caste-ridden society. An agitated Periyar also said, “The Hindus forever blame Muslims and spread the poisonous propaganda that many Hindus were forcefully converted to Islam? Am I forcing you?”
He was a great fan of the Prophet (may Allah bless and greet him) and once said in a lecture, “There are enough ideas ... of Muhammad Nabi, which are acceptable and could be supported and held up as ideas even by people like us who do not see any divine nature in him and also by those reformists who belong to other religions”.
WHY HE REMAINED AN ATHEIST?
If his views are as above mentioned then why he himself did not embrace Islam? The question is perplexing, twisting and is often exploited by his opponents to cast doubts on the sincerity of his views and efforts. What’s the truth, only God knows but one most cogent explanation, according to my studies, is as follows: It has been already said that his opponents unleashed a fierce propaganda-crusade against him to de-legitimise his views in the masses by regarding him as an atheist. In such scenario if at all he would have become a Muslim, his opponents would have got a priceless weapon with which they could have demolished all his movements and sincere efforts for the development of the Shudras. At least in my view this is what Periyar would have thought and his fear of losing all his hard earned reputation and influence in one go, he restrained from proclaiming faith in God in open. And Indian realities are vocal for the veracity of this exegesis. People have listened to him because he was ‘one of them’; the moment he would have become a Muslim he would have become ‘the other’ and the empathy with which he was able to call out ‘his’ people would have been lost instantly. And his dream of uplifting his people would also have been shattered that very moment. This was the logic that unfortunately appealed to him. After all uplifting his people was his foremost concern.
Though, this is a tragedy that such a great reformer, due to harsh realities of his society, could not proclaim his belief in a faith which according to him was the ultimate solution to the owes of his people and community. Now it is our responsibility to change this harsh reality. To reach out to ‘his’ people with ‘his’ message that no great man in future would pay the price of the ignorance of his people, bury the truth that he discovered into the deepest of the heart, and die with a believing heart but a fearing mind and an unbelieving tongue.
E.V. Ramaswamy alias Periyar was a Dravidian social reformer and politician from India, who founded the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. Introducing him, G. Aloysius wrote that he “was an uncompromising iconoclast, a consistent rationalist and an untiring socio-cultural reformer of the previous century”. On religion, Periyar is considered the Voltaire of South India. Because, like Voltaire, he opposed religion virulently; as in his views the so-called men of religion have exploited religion to exploit common, ingenuous and ignorant masses. He has been a harsh critic of the Aryan influenced Hinduism in Tamil Nadu and spoke appreciatively about faiths of Buddhism, Christianity and especially Islam. He has proposed Islam as the most viable alternative to Brahminical Hinduism.
AN ATHEIST OR NOT?
Periyar has been considered to be a prophet of atheism especially for the downtrodden in South India. But this image of him as being a ‘prophet of atheism’ is far from the truth. To quote G. Aloysius, “While he (Periyar) was alive and active, many stood to lose in several ways because of his nearly three quarters of a century long campaign against the oppressive native religio-cultural practices in general, but the most vicious social irrationality of the Indian society that is the system and spirit of caste in particular, projected him as a rabid atheist of the mould of the 19th century west. This they did in order to de-legitimise him with the masses, who it was generally presumed were “inclined towards things godly and religious” – after all Periyar himself vigorously negated the charges of atheism or any intentions of propagating godlessness. He was a vocal rebel of Hindu society whose voice reverberated with all strength and determination against Brahminical Hinduism.
But in his personal views he was more akin to atheism. He was an atheist or he was not? Readers must have been perplexed by now. At the end of the day he was a believer in no religion in his personal capacity and in this respect he was technically an atheist (only ‘technically’ because in common parlance the word atheist is not only used for a person who does not believe in God but also for those people who hate God or who are anti-God). But “he (Periyar) was not out to preach to the public what he believed or practised in his personal life, that is atheism”.
“Periyar’s target,” elaborates Aloysius, “was specific and contextual – the deleterious and disastrous effect that the dominant ‘religion’ of his day was having on the social life of the people”. He was not opposed to religion as such but only to “such” religions, in his own words, “Intoxication from such religion is more ruinous than that of liquor. Liquor destroys only him who drinks it, but religion destroys him who merely thinks it” (emphasis added). The definition of “such” religion is a religion that promotes caste distinctions, that is opposed to rational enquiry; that is opposed to fraternity; that is opposed to equality.
Since his childhood Periyar saw the atrocities on people belonging to lower castes. His studies concluded that if one has to come out of the shackles of caste, he has to accept Islam. His speeches, writings and sincere pleas to the people to embrace Islam are enough a proof that he was sincere in his appeals and was not mere ‘threatening’ the religious authorities as is commonly believed.
It was because of this alleged discrepancy in his thoughts (regarding religion and atheism) and even propaganda by his opponents that his movement for religious reform – or conversion – to put it more blatantly – did not produce the impact it was otherwise bound to generate. He was particularly hauled over the coals when he put forward his controversial proposal of conversion to Islam as the antidote to the despicable status of Shudras.
But before proceeding further and analysing his views on Islam, one thing should be made clear that his angle and outlook – as he was personally a nastik (atheist) and not a believer in Islam – too was materialistic. To him Islam was no divine-truth, criterion-of-right-and-wrong, a code of conduct decreed by Almighty God. It was only a religion of a powerful community with self respect, a religion that preaches equality and fraternity. In fact it could be safely said that like many other scholars and thinkers of his era, he was interested in “seen” rather than “unseen” of Islam. And truly, be it a scholar or commoner outside the pale of Islam, one could see only the “seen” of Islam; and it is this “seen” generally, which leads to the belief in the “unseen” – if only a conducive environment is provided in which a person is able to apply his rationality without being affected by biases and prejudices.
PERIYAR ON ISLAM
In a speech delivered at Erode (his hometown) in 1929 he said, “It is only superstition to believe that on account of religion that if a Hindu consumes cow’s meat, it is sin and if a Mohammaden does, it is no sin; both the beliefs have no meaning. All religions of the world are raised on superstition... I am pleased, not on the basis of sin or virtue or heaven or hell.” In the same speech he went on making his point that he is pleased because a few of adi-dravidians converted from the Hindu religion and truly “they are liberated” from what he called “an animal state of idiocy and uncivilisation”.
At the end of his lecture he concluded, “Therefore until the Hindu society achieves true equality and unity there is no way out for untouchables other than becoming Muslims in crowd”.
In a speech delivered at Trichirapalli 1947, he was more perspicuous in his ideas and suggestions. The solutions like bringing Shudras to the mainstream and ‘inculcating’ in them self respect etc. by different day dreaming Hindu reformers was in general scoffed at by him as ‘sleep-inducing & soporific drugs’ that could reduce pain for the time being but the core problem will nevertheless persist. The problem, “has only one remedy and that remedy is Islam” – he declared unequivocally.
He commented rightly and thereby threw a light upon the tragic plight of Indian Muslims that have made (especially in that era) their religion a ‘closed commodity’ a hereditary religion like Judaism. Periyar demolishes this by arguing that Muslims of India are not proprietors of Islam. Muslims are in India, Egypt, Abyssinia, Japan, Germany, etc. And for all of them there is no God but one and that too without form.
He said, “What is common to all; fraternity, equal rights and discipline and all the rest depends upon the traditions of the different countries.” In the same speech he made a controversial and absolutely untrue remark – either to please and sooth masses or due to lack of understanding of Islam that, “if you in the dravidanadu become Islamic, then that Islam would be what we determine it to be….” Both the sentences read together could be considered a plea of a doctor who wants his patient to take the medicine anyhow, even by declaring that it tastes like a vanilla ice-cream.
In response to the flooding letters and people for an argument over his speeches in Trichy, he wrote a piece in which he succinctly analysed – WHY ONLY ISLAM?
First he took a leaf out of prevalent environment of hatred of Hindus towards Islam (take note of the fact that those were the days of two-nation theory, communalism and partition, when, as opposed to Muslim communalism, two nation-theory and other factors, the saffron brigade was successful in rallying the Hindu masses behind it.) He raised some of the most pertinent questions.
Some of his pungent sentences are quoted as below. “The reason behind the hatred of the Hindus toward the Muslims today is their hatred of Islam itself. Because Islam is contrary to the Aryan religion (Hinduism), the Hindus (the Aryans) hate Islam. It is contrary because Islam demolishes the very foundation of the Hindu religion. For the Aryan religion, which is also called Hindu religion, there are so many gods having also as many forms. And among the people there are several caste discriminations. The caste has been devised according to circumstances of birth. The people are divided into higher and lower castes such as Brahmin, Shudra and Panchaman (Pariah). It is in accordance with this principle that we have become members of low caste.
“In Islam, on the other hand, there is no Brahmin (high caste) or Shudra (low caste) or Panchama (least caste). In other words, Islam is founded on the principle of one god and one caste, that is, one family and one divinity. It could also be said that such a principle belongs to and needed for the Dravidians. The so-called Hindu (Aryan) religion is based on many gods and many castes, which are also created by the gods. Through this arrangement of many gods – many castes, the Aryans (the Brahmins) get good benefits and privileges.
“The Dravidians, on the other hand, find only ruin, degradation and obstacle to human rights. It is for this reason the Islamic principle is very odious to Brahmins. For the Dravidians, on the contrary, Islam is opportune for the removal of degradation and achievement of welfare. Therefore the Brahmins, the Aryans are constrained to hate Islam”.
What about Christianity? One could think that it also (principally) does not believe in caste and inequalities. But ground realities – of which Periyar was very much aware – were telling a different story. Periyar also appreciated Christianity a great deal in comparison to the Aryan religion. Nevertheless he also acknowledged, “If people leave Hinduism, they should follow some other religion. What religion should be recommended to people? Christianity was more like the Brahmin religion, so I recommended Islam to people. Because, in Christianity there are untouchable Christians, Nadar Christians, Vellala Christians and so on. So even in Christianity there are differences followed based on Varnashrama Dharma; so, in India, it is Hindu Christianity! If the Depressed Classes embraced Islam, they would get social equality in a very short period.”
He accused the Brahminical order that was bent upon perpetuating caste distinctions in Indian society and said that they had made “us all enemies of Islam by projecting it as devilish, satanic and monstrous”. He rightly asks, “Which reform or good effort that we want to undertake and Islam prevents?”
The opposition to his ‘rebellious’ and ‘blasphemous’ thoughts did not halt and answering an uncivilised letter full of abuses and scurrilous words, Periyar is forced to ask, “Why at the mention of Islam, agitate like a bull that has seen red?” he argued that he is advising only those people to embrace Islam who hate Shudra-tag and believe that Dravidian society should have self respect and human feeling”. He challenges, “If there is any alternative method, please go and demonstrate.” The failure of all attempts – that include the attempts of Gandhi (to bring Shudras to the mainstream of Hinduism) and of Ambedkar (mass conversion to Buddhism) – has vindicated Periyar. Periyar was sure on his conclusion that Islam is the ultimate solution for all the evils of a caste-ridden society. An agitated Periyar also said, “The Hindus forever blame Muslims and spread the poisonous propaganda that many Hindus were forcefully converted to Islam? Am I forcing you?”
He was a great fan of the Prophet (may Allah bless and greet him) and once said in a lecture, “There are enough ideas ... of Muhammad Nabi, which are acceptable and could be supported and held up as ideas even by people like us who do not see any divine nature in him and also by those reformists who belong to other religions”.
WHY HE REMAINED AN ATHEIST?
If his views are as above mentioned then why he himself did not embrace Islam? The question is perplexing, twisting and is often exploited by his opponents to cast doubts on the sincerity of his views and efforts. What’s the truth, only God knows but one most cogent explanation, according to my studies, is as follows: It has been already said that his opponents unleashed a fierce propaganda-crusade against him to de-legitimise his views in the masses by regarding him as an atheist. In such scenario if at all he would have become a Muslim, his opponents would have got a priceless weapon with which they could have demolished all his movements and sincere efforts for the development of the Shudras. At least in my view this is what Periyar would have thought and his fear of losing all his hard earned reputation and influence in one go, he restrained from proclaiming faith in God in open. And Indian realities are vocal for the veracity of this exegesis. People have listened to him because he was ‘one of them’; the moment he would have become a Muslim he would have become ‘the other’ and the empathy with which he was able to call out ‘his’ people would have been lost instantly. And his dream of uplifting his people would also have been shattered that very moment. This was the logic that unfortunately appealed to him. After all uplifting his people was his foremost concern.
Though, this is a tragedy that such a great reformer, due to harsh realities of his society, could not proclaim his belief in a faith which according to him was the ultimate solution to the owes of his people and community. Now it is our responsibility to change this harsh reality. To reach out to ‘his’ people with ‘his’ message that no great man in future would pay the price of the ignorance of his people, bury the truth that he discovered into the deepest of the heart, and die with a believing heart but a fearing mind and an unbelieving tongue.
Tamil people
From New World Encyclopedia
Total population:77,000,000
Regions with significant populations:
India: 61,527,000 (1996)[2]
Sri Lanka: 3,000,000 (1993)
Malaysia: 1,060,000 (1993)[2]
Singapore: 111,000 (1993) [2]
Languages: Tamil
Religions: Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism
Related ethnic groups: Dravidian people · Brahui people · Kannadigas · Malayalis · Tamils · Telugus · Tuluvas · Gonds
Tamil people, a Dravidian people from the Indian subcontinent, have a recorded history going back more than two millennia.[3] The oldest Tamil communities live in southern India and north-eastern Sri Lanka. A number of Tamil emigrant communities resided scattered around the world, especially in central Sri Lanka, Malaysia, South Africa, Singapore, and Mauritius with more recent emigrants found in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States, and Europe. An estimated 77 million Tamils live scattered around the world.
The art and architecture of the Tamil people encompass some of the greatest contributions of India to the art world. The music, the temple architecture and the stylized sculptures favored by the Tamil people remain live art forms, still learned and practiced. The classical language of Tamil, one of the oldest languages in India, has the oldest extant literature amongst other Dravidian languages.[4]
Unlike many ethnic groups, Tamils experienced governance by more than one political entity during most of their history. Tamilakam, the traditional name for the Tamil lands, experienced political unity for only a brief period, between the ninth and twelfth centuries, under the Chola Dynasty. Enthnologists identity Tamil primarily by linguistic similarities, although in recent times the definition has been broadened to include emigrants of Tamil descent who maintain Tamil cultural traditions, even if they no longer regularly speak the language. Tamils ethnically, linguistically and culturally relate to the other Dravidian peoples of the Indian subcontinent.
History
Pre-historic period
The Great Temple at Thanjavur built by Rajaraja Chola IThe origins of the Tamil people, like those of the other Dravidian peoples, remain unknown, although genetic and archaeological evidence suggests a possible migration into India around 6000 B.C.E.[5] The megalithic urn burials, dating from around 1000 B.C.E. and onwards, which have been discovered at various locations in Tamil Nadu, notably in Adichanallur, provide the earliest clear evidence of the presence of the Tamil people in modern Tamil Nadu.[6][7] These burials conform to the descriptions of funerals in classical Tamil literature in a number of details, and appear to be concrete evidence of the existence of Tamils in southern India during that period.[8] In modern times, ancient Tamil literature like Sangam poetry and epics like Silapthigaaram have been interpreted as making references to a lost land known as Kumari Kandam.[9]
Classical period
From around the third century B.C.E. onwards, three royal dynasties—the Cholas, the Cheras and the Pandyas—rose to dominate the ancient Tamil country.[7] Each of those dynasties had its own realm within the Tamil-speaking region. Classical literature and inscriptions also describe a number of Velirs, or minor chieftains, who collectively ruled over large parts of central Tamil Nadu.[10] Wars between the kings and the chieftains were frequent, as were conflicts with ancient Sri Lanka.[11][12] Those wars appear to have been fought to assert hegemony and demand tribute, rather than to subjugate and annex those territories. The kings and chieftains served as patrons of the arts, and a significant volume of literature exists from that period.[10] The literature shows that many of the cultural Tamil practices date back to the classical period.[10]
Agriculture played a vital role during this period, evidence suggesting that they built irrigation networks as early as second century C.E.[13] Internal and external trade flourished, and evidence exists of significant contact with Ancient Rome.[14] Large quantities of Roman coins and signs of the presence of Roman traders have been discovered at Karur and Arikamedu.[14] Evidence exists suggesting that Pandya kings sent at least two embassies to the Roman Emperor Augustus.[15] Potsherds with Tamil writing have been found in excavations on the Red Sea, suggesting the presence of Tamil merchants there.[16] An anonymous first century traveler's account written in Greek, Periplus Maris Erytraei, describes the ports of the Pandya and Chera kingdoms and their commercial activity in great detail. Periplus also indicates that the ancient Tamils exported chiefly pepper, malabathrum, pearls, ivory, silk, spikenard, diamonds, sapphires, and tortoiseshell.[17]
The classical period ended around the fourth century C.E. with invasions by the Kalabhra, referred to as the kalappirar in Tamil literature and inscriptions,[18] described as evil kings and barbarians coming from lands to the north of the Tamil country.[19] That period, commonly referred to as the Dark Age of the Tamil country, ended with the rise of the Pallava dynasty.[18][20][21]
Imperial and post-imperial periods
Detail from a temple in Chidambaram, south of Chennai. Tamil kings were patrons of the arts, and built many ornate temples.Although the Pallava records trace to the second century C.E., they arose to prominence as an imperial dynasty in the sixth century.[22] Evidence suggests that the dynasty had been non-Tamil in origin, although they rapidly adopted the local culture and the Tamil language. The Pallavas sought to model themselves after great northern dynasties such as the Mauryas and Guptas.[23] They therefore transformed the institution of the kingship into an imperial one, and sought to bring vast amounts of territory under their direct rule. The Pallavas, initially Buddhists, later converted to Hinduism. They encouraged the Bhakti movement, which had risen to counter the growing influence of Jainism and Buddhism.[24] The Pallavas pioneered the building of large, ornate temples in stone which formed the basis of the Dravidian temple architecture.
The resurgent Cholas overthrew the Pallava dynasty in the ninth century.[22] The Cholas become dominant in the tenth century and established an empire covering most of southern India and Sri Lanka.[22], 345. The empire had strong trading links with China and Southeast Asia.[25][26] The Cholas' navy conquered the South Asian kingdom of Sri Vijaya in Sumatra and continued as far as Thailand and Burma.[22]Chola power declined in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and the Pandya dynasty enjoyed a brief period of resurgence thereafter during the rule of Sundara Pandya.[22] Repeated Muslim invasions from the fifteenth century onwards placed a huge strain on the empire's resources, the dynasty coming to an end in the sixteenth century.[27]
The western Tamil lands became increasingly politically distinct from the rest of the Tamil lands after the Chola and Pandya empires lost control over them in the thirteenth century. They developed their own distinct language and literature, which increasingly grew apart from Tamil, evolving into the modern Malayalam language by the fifteenth century.[28]
No major empires arose thereafter, and for a while a number of different local chiefs, such as the Nayaks of the modern Maharashtra ruled Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh regions. From the seventeenth century onwards, European powers began establishing settlements and trading outposts in the region. The British, French and Danish in the eighteenth century fought a number of battles for control of the region, and by the end of the eighteenth century most of Tamil Nadu came under British rule.
Tamils in Sri Lanka
The Nallur Kandaswamy temple in JaffnaLittle consensus exists on the history of the Tamil-speaking parts of Sri Lanka prior to the Chola period. Some Sinhala historians argue that the Tamil had no organised presence in Sri Lanka until the invasions from southern India in the tenth century, whereas many Tamil historians contend that Tamils represent the original inhabitants of the island, called Araipadi and Elapadi. The historical evidence proves neither case.
The historical record does establish that the Tamil kingdoms of India engaged closely in Sri Lankan affairs from about the second century B.C.E.[11][12] Evidence exists of early Tamil traders in Anuradhapura. Tamil adventurers invaded the island as far back as 100 B.C.E.[29] Tamil wars against Sri Lanka culminated in the Chola annexation of the island in the tenth century, lasting until the latter half of the eleventh century.[30][31][32]
The re-establishment of the Polonnaruwa monarchy in the late eleventh century followed the decline of Chola power in Sri Lanka.[33] In 1215, the Arya Chakaravarthi dynasty established an independent Jaffna kingdom[34] in the Jaffna peninsula and parts of northern Sri Lanka. Alagakkonara, a man from a family of Malayali merchants who had become the chief minister of the Sinhalese king Parakramabahu V (1344–1359), halted the Arya Chakaravarthi expansion into the south.[35] Alagakkonara built a fortress at Kotte and held the Arya Chakravarthi army there while he defeated the invading fleet at Panadura, southwest of Kotte. A descendant of Alagakkonara (Tamil Alagakonar) later became King of the Sinhalese,[36] but the Ming admiral Zheng He deposed that line in 1409. The Arya Chakaravarthi dynasty ruled over large parts of northeast Sri Lanka until 1619, when the Portuguese conquered Sri Lanka. Then the Dutch took the coastal areas of the island, until in 1796 those became part of the British Empire.
Modern period
A colonial-era photograph of a Tamil couple.
British colonists consolidated the Tamil territory in southern India into the Madras Presidency before integrating the region into British India. Similarly, the Tamil parts of Sri Lanka joined with the other regions of the island in 1802 to form the Ceylon colony, Ceylon remaining in political union with India and Sri Lanka after their independence, in 1947 and 1948 respectively.
When India became independent in 1947, Madras Presidency became the Madras State, comprised of present-day Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh, northern Kerala, and the southwest coast of Karnataka. The state subsequently split along linguistic lines. In 1953, the northern districts formed Andhra Pradesh. Under the States Reorganization Act in 1956, Madras State lost its western coastal districts, with the Bellary and South Kanara districts ceded to Mysore state. Kerala formed from the Malabar district and the former princely states of Travancore and Cochin. In 1968, Madras State became Tamil Nadu.
Initially, some Tamil demanded an independent Tamil state following the adoption of the federal system.[37] The Indian constitution granted significant autonomy to the states, and protests by Tamils in 1963 led to the government adopting a new policy called the "three language formula," which led to Tamils in India becoming increasingly satisfied with the federal arrangement, support for secession or independence today nearly disappearing.
In Sri Lanka, the unitary arrangement led to a growing belief among some Tamils of discrimination by the Sinhalese majority. That resulted in a demand for federalism, which in the 1970s grew into a movement for an autonomous Tamil country. The situation deteriorated into civil war in the early 1980s. A ceasefire in effect since 2002 broke down in August 2006 amid shelling and bombing from both sides.
Geographic distribution
Indian Tamils
Most Indian Tamils live in the state of Tamil Nadu. They form the majority in the union territory of Pondicherry, a former French colony. Pondicherry comprises a subnational enclave situated within Tamil Nadu. Tamil communities exist in other parts of India, most emerging fairly recently, dating to the colonial and post-colonial periods, but some—particularly the Hebbar and Mandyam Tamils of southern Karnataka, the Tamils of Palakkad in Kerala, and the Tamils of Pune, Maharashtra—date back to at least the medieval period.
Sri Lankan Tamils
Two groups of Tamils live in Sri Lanka today. The first, known as the Sri Lankan Tamils, either descended from the Tamils of the old Jaffna kingdom or migrated to the East coast. The second, known as the Indian Tamils or Hill Country Tamils, descended from bonded labourers sent from Tamil Nadu in the nineteenth century to work in tea plantations.[38] Ceylon Tamils mostly live in the Northern and Eastern provinces and in the capital of Colombo, whereas hill-country Tamils largely live in the central highlands.[39] The Hill Country Tamils and Ceylon Tamils historically have seen themselves as separate communities. In 1949, the United National Party Government, including G. G. Ponnambalam, a leader of the Tamil Congress and of the Sri Lankan Tamils, stripped the Indian Tamils of their nationality, along with their right to vote. Prominent Tamil political leaders such as S. J. V. Chelvanayakam and his Tamil opposition party opposed that move.[40]
A Hill Country Tamil woman working on a tea plantation in upcountry Sri Lanka.
Under an agreement between the Sri Lankan and Indian governments in the 1960s, around 40 percent of Hill Country Tamils received Sri Lankan nationality, and many of the remainder repatriated to India. The ethnic conflict has led to the growth of a greater sense of common Tamil identity, and the two groups have become more supportive of each other.[41] By the 1990s most Indian Tamils had received Sri Lankan citizenship.[42]
A significant Tamil-speaking Muslim population lives in Sri Lanka. Unlike Tamil-speaking Muslims from India, they reject the ethnic Tamils identity, usually listed by the government as a separate ethnic group in official statistics.[43][44]
Tamil emigrant communities
Significant Tamil emigration began in the eighteenth century, when the British colonial government sent many poor Tamils as indentured labourers to far-off parts of the Empire, especially Malaya, South Africa, Fiji, Mauritius and the Caribbean. At about the same time, many Tamil businessmen also immigrated to other parts of the British Empire, particularly to Burma and East Africa.[45] Many Tamils still live in those countries, and the Tamil communities in Singapore, Reunion Island, Malaysia and South Africa have retained much of their culture and language. Many Malaysian children attend Tamil schools, and a significant portion of Tamil children in Mauritius and Reunion have been raised with Tamil as their first language. In Singapore, Tamil students learn Tamil as their second language in school, with English as the first. To preserve the Tamil language, the Singapore government has made it a national language despite Tamils comprising only about 10 percent of the population, and has also introduced compulsory instruction of the language for Tamils. Other Tamil communities, such as those in South Africa and Fiji, no longer speak Tamil as a first language, but still retain a strong Tamil identity, understanding the language, while most elders speak it as a first language.[46]
A large emigration also began in the 1980s, as Sri Lankan Tamils sought to escape the ethnic conflict. Those recent emigrants have most often fled to Australia, Europe, North America and Southeast Asia.[47] Today, Durban, South Africa has the largest concentration of Tamils outside southern Asia while Toronto, Canada has the second largest.[48]
Many young Tamil professionals from India have also immigrated to Europe and the United States in recent times in search of better opportunities. Those new immigrant communities have established cultural associations to protect and promote Tamil culture and language in their adopted homes.
Culture
Language and literature
An idol in Madurai representing the Tamil language as a goddess; The caption on the pedestal reads Tamil Annai ("Mother Tamil").Tamils have strong feelings towards the Tamil language, often venerated in literature as "Tamil̲an̲n̲ai," "the Tamil mother".[49] Historically, and contemporarily, Tamil language has been central to the Tamil identity. Like the other languages of South India, Tamil is a Dravidian language, unrelated to the Indo-European languages of northern India. The language has been far less influenced by Sanskrit than the other Dravidian languages, and preserves many features of Proto-Dravidian, though modern-day spoken Tamil in Tamil Nadu, freely uses loanwords from Sanskrit and English.[50] Tamil literature possesses considerable antiquity, the government of India recognising it as a classical language.
Classical Tamil literature, ranging from lyric poetry to works on poetics and ethical philosophy, has distinct differences from contemporary and later literature in other Indian languages, and represents the oldest body of secular literature in South Asia.[51] Notable works in classical Tamil literature include the Tirukkural, by Tiruvalluvar, the five great Tamil epics, and the works of Auvaiyar. The written language has changed little over the years, with the result that much of classical literature remains easily accessible to modern Tamils and continues to influence modern Tamil culture.
Modern Tamil possesses a diverse body of literature including: Indian Nationalism, in the works of Subramanya Bharathi; historical romanticism, by Kalki Krishnamurthy; radical and moderate social realism, by Pudhumaipithan and Jayakanthan; and feminism, by Malathi Maithri and Kutti Revathi. Sujatha, an author whose works range from romance novels to science fiction, stands as one of the most popular modern writers in Tamil. Sri Lankan Tamil writers have produced several works reflecting the civilian tragedy caused by decades of war. A diaspora literature has been emerging in Tamil.
The Tamil people use a number of regional dialects that vary among regions and communities. Tamil dialects mainly differentiate by the disparate phonological changes and sound shifts that have evolved from Old Tamil. Although most Tamil dialects differ insignificantly in their vocabulary, a few exceptions exist. The dialects spoken in Sri Lanka retain many words seldom used in daily conversation in India, while using many other words slightly differently. The dialect of the Iyers of Palakkad, with a large number of Malayalam loanwords, has been influenced by Malayalam syntax, and has a distinct Malayalam accent. The Sankethi, Hebbar, and Mandyam dialects, the former spoken by groups of Tamil Iyers, and the latter two by Vaishnavites who migrated to Karnataka in the eleventh century, retains many Vaishnavite religious and spiritual values. Although not a dialect, the Tamil spoken in Chennai infuses English words, creating Madras Bashai (Madras language).
Visual art and architecture
Most traditional Tamil art take a religious form usually centering on Hinduism, although the religious element often only serves as a means of representing universal—and, occasionally, humanist—themes.[52]
Tanjore painting, originating in Thanjavur in the ninth century, represents the most important form of Tamil painting. The artist paints the image, using dyes, on cloth coated with zinc oxide, then decorates the painting with semi-precious stones as well as silver or gold thread.[53] Painting employed temple wall murals uses a style related in origin, but that exhibits significant differences in execution, most notably the murals on the Meenakshi temple, of Madurai.[54] Tamil art, in general, has earned a reputation for its stylistic elegance, rich colors, and attention to small details.
A gopuram of the Meenakshi temple in Madurai.Tamil sculpture ranges from elegant stone sculptures in temples, to bronze icons with exquisite details.[55]
Art historians consider the medieaval Chola bronzes one of India's greatest contributions to the world art.[56][57] Unlike most Western art, the material in Tamil sculpture does not influence the form taken by the sculpture; instead, the artist imposes his/her vision of the form on the material.[58] As a result, one often sees in stone sculptures flowing forms that usually reserved for metal.[59] As with painting, those sculptures show a fine eye for detail. The artist takes great care in sculpting the minute details of jewelery, worn by the subjects of the sculpture. The cave sculptures at Mamallapuram and the bronzes of the Chola period present remarkable examples of the technique. The depiction of Shiva as Nataraja, in a dance posture with one leg upraised, and a fiery circular halo surrounding his body represents a popular motif in the bronzes.
An inside view of a traditional Tamil houseTamil temples, often simply treated as sculptures on a grand scale, host high spires known as Gopura, consisting of a number of stepped levels, and the vimanam, which rises above the sanctum sanctorum. During the Chola period, the vimanams had more prominence, as seen in the Brihadīsvara temple of Thanjavur. During the Nayak period, the spires became progressively more elaborate and ornate, as exemplified by the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, while the vimanam became much smaller. From the thirteenth century onwards, the entrance gates to the temples, called gopurams in Tamil, also began to grow larger, and more elaborate. The temples at Chidambaram and Srirangam have particularly impressive gopurams, covered with sculptures and reliefs of various scenes and characters from Hindu mythology.
As with Indian art in general, Tamil art traditionally resists portraiture or realism. Artists place primary emphasis on the representation of ideal prototypes, and on depicting the symbols associated with the theme of the artistic work. Small details, such as the direction a hand faces, the animals or trees portrayed, or the time of day depicted, convey critically subtle meanings.[60]
Performing arts
The traditional Tamil performing arts have ancient roots.[61] The royal courts and temples have been centers for the performing arts since the classical period, and possibly earlier. Descriptions of performances in classical Tamil literature and the Natya Shastra, a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts, indicate a close relationship between the ancient and modern artforms. A performance in the Tamil tradition aims to bring out the rasa, the flavor, mood, or feeling, inherent in the text, its quality measured by the extent to which it induces the mood in the audience.
Tamil folk artists presenting a Villuppattu near Tirunelveli during a festival (panguni uththiram) at an Ayyanar temple.
Folk artists performing at a funeralTamil shares a classical musical tradition, called Carnatic music, with the rest of South India, primarily oriented towards vocal music, with instruments functioning either as accompaniments, or as imitations of the singer's role. Ancient Tamil music, stemming from the long traditions of classical literature and Cilappatikaram, played a major part in the evolution of Carnatic music.[62] Carnatic music organizes around the twin notions of melody types (rāgam), and cyclical rhythm types (thāḷam). Unlike the northern Hindustani music tradition, carnatic music has an almost exclusively religious quality. In sharp contrast with the restrained and intellectual nature of carnatic music, Tamil folk music tends toward the exuberant. Popular forms of Tamil folk music include the Villuppattu, a form of music performed with a bow, and the Naattupurapaattu, ballads that convey folklore and folk history.
Bharatanatyam represents the dominant classical dance among Tamils, performative rather than participative. The dance constitutes an exposition of the story contained in a song, usually performed by one performer on stage with an orchestra of drums, a drone, and one or more singers backstage. The dancers tell the story through a complicated combination of mudras (hand gestures), facial expressions, and body postures. Until recently, female dancers monopolized performances; recently several well-known male dancers have emerged on the scene.[61]
Karakattam constitutes the most notable of Tamil folk dances. The dancers perform the dance, in its religious form, in front of an image of the goddess Mariamma. The dancer bears, on his or her head, a brass pot filled with uncooked rice, decorated with flowers and surrounded by a bamboo frame, and tumbles and leaps to the rhythm of a song without spilling a grain. Dancers usually perform karakāṭṭamto to a special type of song known as temmanguppattu, or thevar pattu, a folk song in the mode of a lover speaking to his beloved, to the accompaniment of a nadaswaram and melam. Other Tamil folk dances include mayilattam, where the dancers tie a string of peacock feathers around their waists; oyilattam, danced in a circle while waving small pieces of cloth of various colors; poykkal kuthiraiyaattam, in which the dancers use dummy horses; manaattam, in which the dancers imitate the graceful leaping of deer; paraiyattam, a dance to the sound of rhythmical drumbeats; and thippanthattam, a dance involving playing with burning torches.[63] Four to eight women perform the kuravanci, taking the form of a type of dance-drama. A woman opens the drama by playing the part of a female soothsayer of a wandering kurava, tribe, who tells the story of a lady pining for her lover.
The therukoothu, a form of village theater or folk opera, literally means "street play." Traditionally performed in village squares, the dancers use the street setting and very simple props. The performances involve songs and dances, and the stories can be either religious or secular.[64] The performances have an informal air, performers often interacting with the audience, mocking them, or involving them in the dialogue. Therukkūthu has, in recent times, been very successfully adapted to convey social messages, such as abstinence and anti-caste criticism, as well as information about legal rights, and has spread to other parts of India.[65]
The village of Melatur, in Tamil Nadu, has a special type of performance, called the bhagavatamela, in honor of the local deity, performed once a year, and lasting all night. Tamil Nadu also has a well developed stage theater tradition, which has been heavily influenced by western theatre. A number of theatrical companies exist, with repertoires including absurdist, realist, and humorous plays.[66]
Both classical and folk performing arts survive in modern Tamil society. Tamil people in Tamil Nadu also have a passion for films. The Tamil film industry, commonly dubbed Kollywood, constitutes the second-largest film industry in India.[67] Tamil cinema has earned a reputation for both its technical accomplishments, and its artistic and entertainment value. The overwhelming majority of Tamil films contain song and dance sequences. Tamil film music, a popular genre in its own right, often liberally fuses elements of carnatic, Tamil folk, North Indian styles, hip-hop, and heavy metal. Famous music directors of the late twentieth century included M. S. Viswanathan, Ilayaraaja, and A. R. Rahman.
Religion
About 90 percent of the population of Tamil Nadu declare themselves Hindu. Christians and Muslims account for five percent each. Most of the Christians belong to the Roman Catholic Church. About one-third of the Muslim population speak Urdu and two-thirds speak Tamil. Tamil Jains number only a few thousand now.[68] Tamil Hinduism, like other regional varieties of Hinduism, has many peculiarities. Murugan, probably the same as Karthikeya, the son of Siva, but who may in origin have been a different deity, and has taken on a distinctly local character, stands as the most popular deity.[69] The worship of Amman, also called Mariamman, thought to have been derived from an ancient mother goddess, prevails among Hindus.[70] Many Tamils worship Kan̲n̲agi, the heroine of the Cilappatikār̲am, worshipped as Paṭṭin̲i, particularly in Sri Lanka.[71] Ayyavazhi has many followers in Tamil Nadu, mainly in the southern districts.[72] Many temples and devotees of Vishnu, Shiva, Ganapathi, and the other common Hindu deities exist.
Pongal, a harvest festival that occurs in mid-January, and Varudapirappu, the Tamil New Year, which occurs around mid-April, represent the most important Tamil festivals, celebrated by almost all Tamils regardless of religion. Tamils celebrate the Hindu festival Deepavali with fanfare; other local Hindu festivals include Thaipusam, Panguni Uttiram, and Adipperukku. While the Cauvery region celebrates Adiperukku with more pomp in than in other regions, the southern districts of Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, and Thoothukudi predominantly celebrate the Ayyavazhi Festival, Ayya Vaikunda Avataram.[73]
Local deities Vandimalaisaami and Vandimalaichchiamman in EttayapuramIn rural Tamil Nadu, many local deities, called aiyyan̲ārs, villagers worship the spirits of local heroes whom they believe protect the village from harm. Their worship often centers around nadukkal, stones erected in memory of heroes who died in battle. Classical literature frequently mentions that form of worship, seemingly the surviving remnants of an ancient Tamil tradition.[74]
Saivism has a particularly strong following in the North. The Alvars and Nayanars, predominantly Tamils, played a key role in the renaissance of Bhakti tradition in South India. In the tenth century, the philosopher Ramanuja, who propagated the theory of Visishtadvaitam, brought many changes to worshiping practices, creating new regulations on temple worship, and accepted lower-caste Hindus as his prime disciples.[75]
Scholars believe Christianity came to Tamil Nadu with the arrival of Saint Thomas the apostle, with the number of Tamil Christians growing during the colonial period. Many Tamils adhere to the Catholic, Protestant, and Syrian Orthodox faiths. The majority of Tamil muslims pledge allegiance to either mainstream Sunni or the Sufi branch.
Cuisine
Tamil cuisine represents one of the oldest vegetarian culinary heritages in the world. Rice, the major staple food in most of Tamil, usually served steamed with about two to six accompanying items, typically including sambar, dry curry, rasam, kootu, and thayir (curd) or moru (whey or buttermilk).
Tiffin (light meals) usually include one or more of Pongal, Dosai, idli, Vadai along with sambar. Families often enjoy chutney as a breakfast or evening snack. Ghee (clarified butter called neyyi in Tamil, flavors the rice when eaten with dhal or sambar, but not with curds or buttermilk. Morkulambu, a dish often spiced with moru, popular among Tamil with steamed rice.
Each geographical area where Tamils live has developed its own distinct variant of the common dishes plus a few dishes distinctly native to itself. The Chettinad region, comprising of Karaikudi and adjoining areas, enjoys both traditional vegetarian dishes, like appam, uthappam, paal paniyaram, and non-vegetarian dishes, made primarily using chicken.
Martial arts
Tamil in Tamil Nadu and Kerala partice a variety of martial arts including Kuttu Varisai, Varma Kalai, Silambam Nillaikalakki, Maankombukkalai (Madhu) and Kalarippayattu. The weapons used include Silambam, Maankombukkalai, Yeratthai Mulangkol (double stick), Surul Pattai (spring sword), Val Vitchi (single sword), and Yeretthai Val (double sword).
The ancient Tamil art of unarmed bullfighting, popular amongst warriors in the classical period[76][77], has also survived in parts of Tamil Nadu, notably Alanganallur near Madurai, known as Jallikaṭṭu or mañcuviraṭṭu, with events held once a year around the time of the Pongal festival.
Institutions
The global spread of the Tamil diaspora has hindered the formation of formal pan-Tamil institutions. The most important national institutions for Tamils have been the governments of the states where they live, particularly the government of Tamil Nadu and the government of Sri Lanka, which have collaborated in developing technical and scientific terminology in Tamil and promoting its use since the 1950s.
The Self-respect movement (also called the Dravidian movement) has dominated politics in Tamil Nadu. Founded by E.V. Ramasami, popularly known as Periyar, to promote self-respect and rationalism, and to fight casteism and the oppression of the lowest castes, the Self-respect movement gained immense popularity. Every major political party in Tamil Nadu bases its ideology on the Self-respect Movement, and the national political parties play a very small role in Tamil politics.
The Tamil flag adopted by the World Tamil Confederation to represent Tamil people everywhere.In Sri Lanka, the federalist movements, led by the Federal Party (later the Tamil United Liberation Front), dominated Tamil politics until the early 1980s. In the 1980s, a violent military campaign conducted by several militant groups largely succeeded the political movement. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam emerged as the most important force amongst those groups in the 1990s, currently in negotiations for a final settlement with the government. The LTTE controls portions of Sri Lanka, and has attempted to establish its own government there, which it calls the government of Tamil Eelam. LTTE has been banned by the European Union on account of alleged terrorism. It has also been banned in India following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.[78][79]
In the 1960s, the government of Tamil Nadu held a World Tamil Conference, and have continued to meet periodically since then. In 1999, Tamil representatives established a World Tamil Confederation to protect and foster Tamil culture and further a sense of togetherness amongst Tamils in different countries. The Confederation has since adopted a Tamil flag and Tamil song[80] to act as trans-national symbols for the Tamil people; the words on the flag quote the opening line of a poem by the classical poet Kanian Poongundranaar, and means "Everyone is our kin; Everyplace is our home."
Total population:77,000,000
Regions with significant populations:
India: 61,527,000 (1996)[2]
Sri Lanka: 3,000,000 (1993)
Malaysia: 1,060,000 (1993)[2]
Singapore: 111,000 (1993) [2]
Languages: Tamil
Religions: Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism
Related ethnic groups: Dravidian people · Brahui people · Kannadigas · Malayalis · Tamils · Telugus · Tuluvas · Gonds
Tamil people, a Dravidian people from the Indian subcontinent, have a recorded history going back more than two millennia.[3] The oldest Tamil communities live in southern India and north-eastern Sri Lanka. A number of Tamil emigrant communities resided scattered around the world, especially in central Sri Lanka, Malaysia, South Africa, Singapore, and Mauritius with more recent emigrants found in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States, and Europe. An estimated 77 million Tamils live scattered around the world.
The art and architecture of the Tamil people encompass some of the greatest contributions of India to the art world. The music, the temple architecture and the stylized sculptures favored by the Tamil people remain live art forms, still learned and practiced. The classical language of Tamil, one of the oldest languages in India, has the oldest extant literature amongst other Dravidian languages.[4]
Unlike many ethnic groups, Tamils experienced governance by more than one political entity during most of their history. Tamilakam, the traditional name for the Tamil lands, experienced political unity for only a brief period, between the ninth and twelfth centuries, under the Chola Dynasty. Enthnologists identity Tamil primarily by linguistic similarities, although in recent times the definition has been broadened to include emigrants of Tamil descent who maintain Tamil cultural traditions, even if they no longer regularly speak the language. Tamils ethnically, linguistically and culturally relate to the other Dravidian peoples of the Indian subcontinent.
History
Pre-historic period
The Great Temple at Thanjavur built by Rajaraja Chola IThe origins of the Tamil people, like those of the other Dravidian peoples, remain unknown, although genetic and archaeological evidence suggests a possible migration into India around 6000 B.C.E.[5] The megalithic urn burials, dating from around 1000 B.C.E. and onwards, which have been discovered at various locations in Tamil Nadu, notably in Adichanallur, provide the earliest clear evidence of the presence of the Tamil people in modern Tamil Nadu.[6][7] These burials conform to the descriptions of funerals in classical Tamil literature in a number of details, and appear to be concrete evidence of the existence of Tamils in southern India during that period.[8] In modern times, ancient Tamil literature like Sangam poetry and epics like Silapthigaaram have been interpreted as making references to a lost land known as Kumari Kandam.[9]
Classical period
From around the third century B.C.E. onwards, three royal dynasties—the Cholas, the Cheras and the Pandyas—rose to dominate the ancient Tamil country.[7] Each of those dynasties had its own realm within the Tamil-speaking region. Classical literature and inscriptions also describe a number of Velirs, or minor chieftains, who collectively ruled over large parts of central Tamil Nadu.[10] Wars between the kings and the chieftains were frequent, as were conflicts with ancient Sri Lanka.[11][12] Those wars appear to have been fought to assert hegemony and demand tribute, rather than to subjugate and annex those territories. The kings and chieftains served as patrons of the arts, and a significant volume of literature exists from that period.[10] The literature shows that many of the cultural Tamil practices date back to the classical period.[10]
Agriculture played a vital role during this period, evidence suggesting that they built irrigation networks as early as second century C.E.[13] Internal and external trade flourished, and evidence exists of significant contact with Ancient Rome.[14] Large quantities of Roman coins and signs of the presence of Roman traders have been discovered at Karur and Arikamedu.[14] Evidence exists suggesting that Pandya kings sent at least two embassies to the Roman Emperor Augustus.[15] Potsherds with Tamil writing have been found in excavations on the Red Sea, suggesting the presence of Tamil merchants there.[16] An anonymous first century traveler's account written in Greek, Periplus Maris Erytraei, describes the ports of the Pandya and Chera kingdoms and their commercial activity in great detail. Periplus also indicates that the ancient Tamils exported chiefly pepper, malabathrum, pearls, ivory, silk, spikenard, diamonds, sapphires, and tortoiseshell.[17]
The classical period ended around the fourth century C.E. with invasions by the Kalabhra, referred to as the kalappirar in Tamil literature and inscriptions,[18] described as evil kings and barbarians coming from lands to the north of the Tamil country.[19] That period, commonly referred to as the Dark Age of the Tamil country, ended with the rise of the Pallava dynasty.[18][20][21]
Imperial and post-imperial periods
Detail from a temple in Chidambaram, south of Chennai. Tamil kings were patrons of the arts, and built many ornate temples.Although the Pallava records trace to the second century C.E., they arose to prominence as an imperial dynasty in the sixth century.[22] Evidence suggests that the dynasty had been non-Tamil in origin, although they rapidly adopted the local culture and the Tamil language. The Pallavas sought to model themselves after great northern dynasties such as the Mauryas and Guptas.[23] They therefore transformed the institution of the kingship into an imperial one, and sought to bring vast amounts of territory under their direct rule. The Pallavas, initially Buddhists, later converted to Hinduism. They encouraged the Bhakti movement, which had risen to counter the growing influence of Jainism and Buddhism.[24] The Pallavas pioneered the building of large, ornate temples in stone which formed the basis of the Dravidian temple architecture.
The resurgent Cholas overthrew the Pallava dynasty in the ninth century.[22] The Cholas become dominant in the tenth century and established an empire covering most of southern India and Sri Lanka.[22], 345. The empire had strong trading links with China and Southeast Asia.[25][26] The Cholas' navy conquered the South Asian kingdom of Sri Vijaya in Sumatra and continued as far as Thailand and Burma.[22]Chola power declined in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and the Pandya dynasty enjoyed a brief period of resurgence thereafter during the rule of Sundara Pandya.[22] Repeated Muslim invasions from the fifteenth century onwards placed a huge strain on the empire's resources, the dynasty coming to an end in the sixteenth century.[27]
The western Tamil lands became increasingly politically distinct from the rest of the Tamil lands after the Chola and Pandya empires lost control over them in the thirteenth century. They developed their own distinct language and literature, which increasingly grew apart from Tamil, evolving into the modern Malayalam language by the fifteenth century.[28]
No major empires arose thereafter, and for a while a number of different local chiefs, such as the Nayaks of the modern Maharashtra ruled Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh regions. From the seventeenth century onwards, European powers began establishing settlements and trading outposts in the region. The British, French and Danish in the eighteenth century fought a number of battles for control of the region, and by the end of the eighteenth century most of Tamil Nadu came under British rule.
Tamils in Sri Lanka
The Nallur Kandaswamy temple in JaffnaLittle consensus exists on the history of the Tamil-speaking parts of Sri Lanka prior to the Chola period. Some Sinhala historians argue that the Tamil had no organised presence in Sri Lanka until the invasions from southern India in the tenth century, whereas many Tamil historians contend that Tamils represent the original inhabitants of the island, called Araipadi and Elapadi. The historical evidence proves neither case.
The historical record does establish that the Tamil kingdoms of India engaged closely in Sri Lankan affairs from about the second century B.C.E.[11][12] Evidence exists of early Tamil traders in Anuradhapura. Tamil adventurers invaded the island as far back as 100 B.C.E.[29] Tamil wars against Sri Lanka culminated in the Chola annexation of the island in the tenth century, lasting until the latter half of the eleventh century.[30][31][32]
The re-establishment of the Polonnaruwa monarchy in the late eleventh century followed the decline of Chola power in Sri Lanka.[33] In 1215, the Arya Chakaravarthi dynasty established an independent Jaffna kingdom[34] in the Jaffna peninsula and parts of northern Sri Lanka. Alagakkonara, a man from a family of Malayali merchants who had become the chief minister of the Sinhalese king Parakramabahu V (1344–1359), halted the Arya Chakaravarthi expansion into the south.[35] Alagakkonara built a fortress at Kotte and held the Arya Chakravarthi army there while he defeated the invading fleet at Panadura, southwest of Kotte. A descendant of Alagakkonara (Tamil Alagakonar) later became King of the Sinhalese,[36] but the Ming admiral Zheng He deposed that line in 1409. The Arya Chakaravarthi dynasty ruled over large parts of northeast Sri Lanka until 1619, when the Portuguese conquered Sri Lanka. Then the Dutch took the coastal areas of the island, until in 1796 those became part of the British Empire.
Modern period
A colonial-era photograph of a Tamil couple.
British colonists consolidated the Tamil territory in southern India into the Madras Presidency before integrating the region into British India. Similarly, the Tamil parts of Sri Lanka joined with the other regions of the island in 1802 to form the Ceylon colony, Ceylon remaining in political union with India and Sri Lanka after their independence, in 1947 and 1948 respectively.
When India became independent in 1947, Madras Presidency became the Madras State, comprised of present-day Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh, northern Kerala, and the southwest coast of Karnataka. The state subsequently split along linguistic lines. In 1953, the northern districts formed Andhra Pradesh. Under the States Reorganization Act in 1956, Madras State lost its western coastal districts, with the Bellary and South Kanara districts ceded to Mysore state. Kerala formed from the Malabar district and the former princely states of Travancore and Cochin. In 1968, Madras State became Tamil Nadu.
Initially, some Tamil demanded an independent Tamil state following the adoption of the federal system.[37] The Indian constitution granted significant autonomy to the states, and protests by Tamils in 1963 led to the government adopting a new policy called the "three language formula," which led to Tamils in India becoming increasingly satisfied with the federal arrangement, support for secession or independence today nearly disappearing.
In Sri Lanka, the unitary arrangement led to a growing belief among some Tamils of discrimination by the Sinhalese majority. That resulted in a demand for federalism, which in the 1970s grew into a movement for an autonomous Tamil country. The situation deteriorated into civil war in the early 1980s. A ceasefire in effect since 2002 broke down in August 2006 amid shelling and bombing from both sides.
Geographic distribution
Indian Tamils
Most Indian Tamils live in the state of Tamil Nadu. They form the majority in the union territory of Pondicherry, a former French colony. Pondicherry comprises a subnational enclave situated within Tamil Nadu. Tamil communities exist in other parts of India, most emerging fairly recently, dating to the colonial and post-colonial periods, but some—particularly the Hebbar and Mandyam Tamils of southern Karnataka, the Tamils of Palakkad in Kerala, and the Tamils of Pune, Maharashtra—date back to at least the medieval period.
Sri Lankan Tamils
Two groups of Tamils live in Sri Lanka today. The first, known as the Sri Lankan Tamils, either descended from the Tamils of the old Jaffna kingdom or migrated to the East coast. The second, known as the Indian Tamils or Hill Country Tamils, descended from bonded labourers sent from Tamil Nadu in the nineteenth century to work in tea plantations.[38] Ceylon Tamils mostly live in the Northern and Eastern provinces and in the capital of Colombo, whereas hill-country Tamils largely live in the central highlands.[39] The Hill Country Tamils and Ceylon Tamils historically have seen themselves as separate communities. In 1949, the United National Party Government, including G. G. Ponnambalam, a leader of the Tamil Congress and of the Sri Lankan Tamils, stripped the Indian Tamils of their nationality, along with their right to vote. Prominent Tamil political leaders such as S. J. V. Chelvanayakam and his Tamil opposition party opposed that move.[40]
A Hill Country Tamil woman working on a tea plantation in upcountry Sri Lanka.Under an agreement between the Sri Lankan and Indian governments in the 1960s, around 40 percent of Hill Country Tamils received Sri Lankan nationality, and many of the remainder repatriated to India. The ethnic conflict has led to the growth of a greater sense of common Tamil identity, and the two groups have become more supportive of each other.[41] By the 1990s most Indian Tamils had received Sri Lankan citizenship.[42]
A significant Tamil-speaking Muslim population lives in Sri Lanka. Unlike Tamil-speaking Muslims from India, they reject the ethnic Tamils identity, usually listed by the government as a separate ethnic group in official statistics.[43][44]
Tamil emigrant communities
Significant Tamil emigration began in the eighteenth century, when the British colonial government sent many poor Tamils as indentured labourers to far-off parts of the Empire, especially Malaya, South Africa, Fiji, Mauritius and the Caribbean. At about the same time, many Tamil businessmen also immigrated to other parts of the British Empire, particularly to Burma and East Africa.[45] Many Tamils still live in those countries, and the Tamil communities in Singapore, Reunion Island, Malaysia and South Africa have retained much of their culture and language. Many Malaysian children attend Tamil schools, and a significant portion of Tamil children in Mauritius and Reunion have been raised with Tamil as their first language. In Singapore, Tamil students learn Tamil as their second language in school, with English as the first. To preserve the Tamil language, the Singapore government has made it a national language despite Tamils comprising only about 10 percent of the population, and has also introduced compulsory instruction of the language for Tamils. Other Tamil communities, such as those in South Africa and Fiji, no longer speak Tamil as a first language, but still retain a strong Tamil identity, understanding the language, while most elders speak it as a first language.[46]
A large emigration also began in the 1980s, as Sri Lankan Tamils sought to escape the ethnic conflict. Those recent emigrants have most often fled to Australia, Europe, North America and Southeast Asia.[47] Today, Durban, South Africa has the largest concentration of Tamils outside southern Asia while Toronto, Canada has the second largest.[48]
Many young Tamil professionals from India have also immigrated to Europe and the United States in recent times in search of better opportunities. Those new immigrant communities have established cultural associations to protect and promote Tamil culture and language in their adopted homes.
Culture
Language and literature
An idol in Madurai representing the Tamil language as a goddess; The caption on the pedestal reads Tamil Annai ("Mother Tamil").Tamils have strong feelings towards the Tamil language, often venerated in literature as "Tamil̲an̲n̲ai," "the Tamil mother".[49] Historically, and contemporarily, Tamil language has been central to the Tamil identity. Like the other languages of South India, Tamil is a Dravidian language, unrelated to the Indo-European languages of northern India. The language has been far less influenced by Sanskrit than the other Dravidian languages, and preserves many features of Proto-Dravidian, though modern-day spoken Tamil in Tamil Nadu, freely uses loanwords from Sanskrit and English.[50] Tamil literature possesses considerable antiquity, the government of India recognising it as a classical language.
Classical Tamil literature, ranging from lyric poetry to works on poetics and ethical philosophy, has distinct differences from contemporary and later literature in other Indian languages, and represents the oldest body of secular literature in South Asia.[51] Notable works in classical Tamil literature include the Tirukkural, by Tiruvalluvar, the five great Tamil epics, and the works of Auvaiyar. The written language has changed little over the years, with the result that much of classical literature remains easily accessible to modern Tamils and continues to influence modern Tamil culture.
Modern Tamil possesses a diverse body of literature including: Indian Nationalism, in the works of Subramanya Bharathi; historical romanticism, by Kalki Krishnamurthy; radical and moderate social realism, by Pudhumaipithan and Jayakanthan; and feminism, by Malathi Maithri and Kutti Revathi. Sujatha, an author whose works range from romance novels to science fiction, stands as one of the most popular modern writers in Tamil. Sri Lankan Tamil writers have produced several works reflecting the civilian tragedy caused by decades of war. A diaspora literature has been emerging in Tamil.
The Tamil people use a number of regional dialects that vary among regions and communities. Tamil dialects mainly differentiate by the disparate phonological changes and sound shifts that have evolved from Old Tamil. Although most Tamil dialects differ insignificantly in their vocabulary, a few exceptions exist. The dialects spoken in Sri Lanka retain many words seldom used in daily conversation in India, while using many other words slightly differently. The dialect of the Iyers of Palakkad, with a large number of Malayalam loanwords, has been influenced by Malayalam syntax, and has a distinct Malayalam accent. The Sankethi, Hebbar, and Mandyam dialects, the former spoken by groups of Tamil Iyers, and the latter two by Vaishnavites who migrated to Karnataka in the eleventh century, retains many Vaishnavite religious and spiritual values. Although not a dialect, the Tamil spoken in Chennai infuses English words, creating Madras Bashai (Madras language).
Visual art and architecture
Most traditional Tamil art take a religious form usually centering on Hinduism, although the religious element often only serves as a means of representing universal—and, occasionally, humanist—themes.[52]
Tanjore painting, originating in Thanjavur in the ninth century, represents the most important form of Tamil painting. The artist paints the image, using dyes, on cloth coated with zinc oxide, then decorates the painting with semi-precious stones as well as silver or gold thread.[53] Painting employed temple wall murals uses a style related in origin, but that exhibits significant differences in execution, most notably the murals on the Meenakshi temple, of Madurai.[54] Tamil art, in general, has earned a reputation for its stylistic elegance, rich colors, and attention to small details.
A gopuram of the Meenakshi temple in Madurai.Tamil sculpture ranges from elegant stone sculptures in temples, to bronze icons with exquisite details.[55]
Art historians consider the medieaval Chola bronzes one of India's greatest contributions to the world art.[56][57] Unlike most Western art, the material in Tamil sculpture does not influence the form taken by the sculpture; instead, the artist imposes his/her vision of the form on the material.[58] As a result, one often sees in stone sculptures flowing forms that usually reserved for metal.[59] As with painting, those sculptures show a fine eye for detail. The artist takes great care in sculpting the minute details of jewelery, worn by the subjects of the sculpture. The cave sculptures at Mamallapuram and the bronzes of the Chola period present remarkable examples of the technique. The depiction of Shiva as Nataraja, in a dance posture with one leg upraised, and a fiery circular halo surrounding his body represents a popular motif in the bronzes.
An inside view of a traditional Tamil houseTamil temples, often simply treated as sculptures on a grand scale, host high spires known as Gopura, consisting of a number of stepped levels, and the vimanam, which rises above the sanctum sanctorum. During the Chola period, the vimanams had more prominence, as seen in the Brihadīsvara temple of Thanjavur. During the Nayak period, the spires became progressively more elaborate and ornate, as exemplified by the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, while the vimanam became much smaller. From the thirteenth century onwards, the entrance gates to the temples, called gopurams in Tamil, also began to grow larger, and more elaborate. The temples at Chidambaram and Srirangam have particularly impressive gopurams, covered with sculptures and reliefs of various scenes and characters from Hindu mythology.
As with Indian art in general, Tamil art traditionally resists portraiture or realism. Artists place primary emphasis on the representation of ideal prototypes, and on depicting the symbols associated with the theme of the artistic work. Small details, such as the direction a hand faces, the animals or trees portrayed, or the time of day depicted, convey critically subtle meanings.[60]
Performing arts
The traditional Tamil performing arts have ancient roots.[61] The royal courts and temples have been centers for the performing arts since the classical period, and possibly earlier. Descriptions of performances in classical Tamil literature and the Natya Shastra, a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts, indicate a close relationship between the ancient and modern artforms. A performance in the Tamil tradition aims to bring out the rasa, the flavor, mood, or feeling, inherent in the text, its quality measured by the extent to which it induces the mood in the audience.
Tamil folk artists presenting a Villuppattu near Tirunelveli during a festival (panguni uththiram) at an Ayyanar temple.
Folk artists performing at a funeralTamil shares a classical musical tradition, called Carnatic music, with the rest of South India, primarily oriented towards vocal music, with instruments functioning either as accompaniments, or as imitations of the singer's role. Ancient Tamil music, stemming from the long traditions of classical literature and Cilappatikaram, played a major part in the evolution of Carnatic music.[62] Carnatic music organizes around the twin notions of melody types (rāgam), and cyclical rhythm types (thāḷam). Unlike the northern Hindustani music tradition, carnatic music has an almost exclusively religious quality. In sharp contrast with the restrained and intellectual nature of carnatic music, Tamil folk music tends toward the exuberant. Popular forms of Tamil folk music include the Villuppattu, a form of music performed with a bow, and the Naattupurapaattu, ballads that convey folklore and folk history.
Bharatanatyam represents the dominant classical dance among Tamils, performative rather than participative. The dance constitutes an exposition of the story contained in a song, usually performed by one performer on stage with an orchestra of drums, a drone, and one or more singers backstage. The dancers tell the story through a complicated combination of mudras (hand gestures), facial expressions, and body postures. Until recently, female dancers monopolized performances; recently several well-known male dancers have emerged on the scene.[61]
Karakattam constitutes the most notable of Tamil folk dances. The dancers perform the dance, in its religious form, in front of an image of the goddess Mariamma. The dancer bears, on his or her head, a brass pot filled with uncooked rice, decorated with flowers and surrounded by a bamboo frame, and tumbles and leaps to the rhythm of a song without spilling a grain. Dancers usually perform karakāṭṭamto to a special type of song known as temmanguppattu, or thevar pattu, a folk song in the mode of a lover speaking to his beloved, to the accompaniment of a nadaswaram and melam. Other Tamil folk dances include mayilattam, where the dancers tie a string of peacock feathers around their waists; oyilattam, danced in a circle while waving small pieces of cloth of various colors; poykkal kuthiraiyaattam, in which the dancers use dummy horses; manaattam, in which the dancers imitate the graceful leaping of deer; paraiyattam, a dance to the sound of rhythmical drumbeats; and thippanthattam, a dance involving playing with burning torches.[63] Four to eight women perform the kuravanci, taking the form of a type of dance-drama. A woman opens the drama by playing the part of a female soothsayer of a wandering kurava, tribe, who tells the story of a lady pining for her lover.
The therukoothu, a form of village theater or folk opera, literally means "street play." Traditionally performed in village squares, the dancers use the street setting and very simple props. The performances involve songs and dances, and the stories can be either religious or secular.[64] The performances have an informal air, performers often interacting with the audience, mocking them, or involving them in the dialogue. Therukkūthu has, in recent times, been very successfully adapted to convey social messages, such as abstinence and anti-caste criticism, as well as information about legal rights, and has spread to other parts of India.[65]
The village of Melatur, in Tamil Nadu, has a special type of performance, called the bhagavatamela, in honor of the local deity, performed once a year, and lasting all night. Tamil Nadu also has a well developed stage theater tradition, which has been heavily influenced by western theatre. A number of theatrical companies exist, with repertoires including absurdist, realist, and humorous plays.[66]
Both classical and folk performing arts survive in modern Tamil society. Tamil people in Tamil Nadu also have a passion for films. The Tamil film industry, commonly dubbed Kollywood, constitutes the second-largest film industry in India.[67] Tamil cinema has earned a reputation for both its technical accomplishments, and its artistic and entertainment value. The overwhelming majority of Tamil films contain song and dance sequences. Tamil film music, a popular genre in its own right, often liberally fuses elements of carnatic, Tamil folk, North Indian styles, hip-hop, and heavy metal. Famous music directors of the late twentieth century included M. S. Viswanathan, Ilayaraaja, and A. R. Rahman.
Religion
About 90 percent of the population of Tamil Nadu declare themselves Hindu. Christians and Muslims account for five percent each. Most of the Christians belong to the Roman Catholic Church. About one-third of the Muslim population speak Urdu and two-thirds speak Tamil. Tamil Jains number only a few thousand now.[68] Tamil Hinduism, like other regional varieties of Hinduism, has many peculiarities. Murugan, probably the same as Karthikeya, the son of Siva, but who may in origin have been a different deity, and has taken on a distinctly local character, stands as the most popular deity.[69] The worship of Amman, also called Mariamman, thought to have been derived from an ancient mother goddess, prevails among Hindus.[70] Many Tamils worship Kan̲n̲agi, the heroine of the Cilappatikār̲am, worshipped as Paṭṭin̲i, particularly in Sri Lanka.[71] Ayyavazhi has many followers in Tamil Nadu, mainly in the southern districts.[72] Many temples and devotees of Vishnu, Shiva, Ganapathi, and the other common Hindu deities exist.
Pongal, a harvest festival that occurs in mid-January, and Varudapirappu, the Tamil New Year, which occurs around mid-April, represent the most important Tamil festivals, celebrated by almost all Tamils regardless of religion. Tamils celebrate the Hindu festival Deepavali with fanfare; other local Hindu festivals include Thaipusam, Panguni Uttiram, and Adipperukku. While the Cauvery region celebrates Adiperukku with more pomp in than in other regions, the southern districts of Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, and Thoothukudi predominantly celebrate the Ayyavazhi Festival, Ayya Vaikunda Avataram.[73]
Local deities Vandimalaisaami and Vandimalaichchiamman in EttayapuramIn rural Tamil Nadu, many local deities, called aiyyan̲ārs, villagers worship the spirits of local heroes whom they believe protect the village from harm. Their worship often centers around nadukkal, stones erected in memory of heroes who died in battle. Classical literature frequently mentions that form of worship, seemingly the surviving remnants of an ancient Tamil tradition.[74]
Saivism has a particularly strong following in the North. The Alvars and Nayanars, predominantly Tamils, played a key role in the renaissance of Bhakti tradition in South India. In the tenth century, the philosopher Ramanuja, who propagated the theory of Visishtadvaitam, brought many changes to worshiping practices, creating new regulations on temple worship, and accepted lower-caste Hindus as his prime disciples.[75]
Scholars believe Christianity came to Tamil Nadu with the arrival of Saint Thomas the apostle, with the number of Tamil Christians growing during the colonial period. Many Tamils adhere to the Catholic, Protestant, and Syrian Orthodox faiths. The majority of Tamil muslims pledge allegiance to either mainstream Sunni or the Sufi branch.
Cuisine
Tamil cuisine represents one of the oldest vegetarian culinary heritages in the world. Rice, the major staple food in most of Tamil, usually served steamed with about two to six accompanying items, typically including sambar, dry curry, rasam, kootu, and thayir (curd) or moru (whey or buttermilk).
Tiffin (light meals) usually include one or more of Pongal, Dosai, idli, Vadai along with sambar. Families often enjoy chutney as a breakfast or evening snack. Ghee (clarified butter called neyyi in Tamil, flavors the rice when eaten with dhal or sambar, but not with curds or buttermilk. Morkulambu, a dish often spiced with moru, popular among Tamil with steamed rice.
Each geographical area where Tamils live has developed its own distinct variant of the common dishes plus a few dishes distinctly native to itself. The Chettinad region, comprising of Karaikudi and adjoining areas, enjoys both traditional vegetarian dishes, like appam, uthappam, paal paniyaram, and non-vegetarian dishes, made primarily using chicken.
Martial arts
Tamil in Tamil Nadu and Kerala partice a variety of martial arts including Kuttu Varisai, Varma Kalai, Silambam Nillaikalakki, Maankombukkalai (Madhu) and Kalarippayattu. The weapons used include Silambam, Maankombukkalai, Yeratthai Mulangkol (double stick), Surul Pattai (spring sword), Val Vitchi (single sword), and Yeretthai Val (double sword).
The ancient Tamil art of unarmed bullfighting, popular amongst warriors in the classical period[76][77], has also survived in parts of Tamil Nadu, notably Alanganallur near Madurai, known as Jallikaṭṭu or mañcuviraṭṭu, with events held once a year around the time of the Pongal festival.
Institutions
The global spread of the Tamil diaspora has hindered the formation of formal pan-Tamil institutions. The most important national institutions for Tamils have been the governments of the states where they live, particularly the government of Tamil Nadu and the government of Sri Lanka, which have collaborated in developing technical and scientific terminology in Tamil and promoting its use since the 1950s.
The Self-respect movement (also called the Dravidian movement) has dominated politics in Tamil Nadu. Founded by E.V. Ramasami, popularly known as Periyar, to promote self-respect and rationalism, and to fight casteism and the oppression of the lowest castes, the Self-respect movement gained immense popularity. Every major political party in Tamil Nadu bases its ideology on the Self-respect Movement, and the national political parties play a very small role in Tamil politics.
The Tamil flag adopted by the World Tamil Confederation to represent Tamil people everywhere.In Sri Lanka, the federalist movements, led by the Federal Party (later the Tamil United Liberation Front), dominated Tamil politics until the early 1980s. In the 1980s, a violent military campaign conducted by several militant groups largely succeeded the political movement. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam emerged as the most important force amongst those groups in the 1990s, currently in negotiations for a final settlement with the government. The LTTE controls portions of Sri Lanka, and has attempted to establish its own government there, which it calls the government of Tamil Eelam. LTTE has been banned by the European Union on account of alleged terrorism. It has also been banned in India following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.[78][79]
In the 1960s, the government of Tamil Nadu held a World Tamil Conference, and have continued to meet periodically since then. In 1999, Tamil representatives established a World Tamil Confederation to protect and foster Tamil culture and further a sense of togetherness amongst Tamils in different countries. The Confederation has since adopted a Tamil flag and Tamil song[80] to act as trans-national symbols for the Tamil people; the words on the flag quote the opening line of a poem by the classical poet Kanian Poongundranaar, and means "Everyone is our kin; Everyplace is our home."
Monday, 17 May 2010
வெறும் கையில் விபூதி வரவழைப்பது எப்படி?
மந்திரமா? தந்திரமா?
Periyar Pinju
posted by Mukilan Murugasan
சாமியார்களின் கையால் விபூதி கொடுத்தால், நோய்கள் குணமாகும், தொழில் பெருகும், பணம் கொழிக்கும், மாணவர்கள் தேர்வில் தேர்ச்சி அடைய முடியும் என்று தவறாக நம்பி, சாமியார்களிடம் சென்று, தான் உழைத்துச் சேர்த்த செல்வங்களை இழக்கின்றனர், சாமியார்களால் விபூதி, சிறிய லிங்கம் போன்றவைதான் வரவழைக்க முடியும் இதற்கு மேலான பெரிய பொருட்களை வரவழைக்க முடியாது. விபூதி என்னும் சாம்பலை, சாமியார்கள் எப்படி வரவழைக்கிறார்கள் என்பதைப் பார்ப்போமா?
வடித்த சோற்றின் கஞ்சியை எடுத்து அதில் சிறிதளவு தண்ணீர் கலந்து அதனுடன் பக்திப் பரவசமூட்டும் வாசனை கலந்த விபூதியைச் சேர்த்துக் குழப்பி, பிசைந்து அக்கலவையை பட்டாணி போல சிறு சிறு உருண்டைகளாகச் செய்து வெயிலில் நன்றாகக் காய வைத்துக் கொள்வார்கள். பக்தர்கள் வரும்போது இந்த விபூதி உருண்டைகளை யாருக்கும் தெரியாதவாறு கையின் பெரு விரலுக்கும், ஆட்காட்டி விரலுக்கும் இடையில் வைத்துக் கொண்டு கை விரல்களைச் சேர்த்த நிலையில் பக்தர்களுக்கு ஆசி வழங்குவார்கள், கை விரல் இடுக்கில் விபூதி உருண்டைகள் இருப்பது பக்தர்களுக்குத் தெரியாது. பிறகு மந்திரம் போடுவது போல் நடித்து வாயை முணு முணுத்து விரலிடுக்கில் மறைத்து வைத்திருக்கும் விபூதி உருண்டையை, கையின் விரல்களை மூடித் திறப்பது போல சைகை செய்து விபூதி உருண்டைகளை விரலின் நுனியில் கொண்டு வந்து விரலால் நசுக்கிக் கம கம வாசனையுடன் வெளியாகும் சாம்பல் விபூதியைப் பக்தர்களிடம் கொடுப்பார்கள் இதை உண்மையென நம்பி பக்தியில் ஊறிய பக்தர்களும் பெரிய பெரிய தொழில் அதிபர்களும் குனிந்து இரண்டு கைகளாலும் பவ்யமாக சாம்பலை வாங்கிப் பூசிக் கொண்டு, தன் உழைப்பால் அறிவால், முயற்சியால், சம்பாதித்த பணத்தை சாமியார்களிடம் காணிக்கை என்ற பெயரில் கொடுத்துவிட்டு, கூனிக் குறுகிக் கும்பிட்டுவிட்டு வருகின்றனர்.
இவையெல்லாம் மக்களை ஏமாற்றும் தந்திரம்-தானே தவிர மந்திரமல்ல. அன்புக் குழந்தைகளே! உங்களின் பெற்றோர்களிடம் கூறி அவர்களையும், இந்தச் சமுதாயத்தையும் விழிப்படையச் செய்யுங்கள்.
வெங்கட. இராசா.ம.பொடையூர்
Periyar Pinju
posted by Mukilan Murugasan
சாமியார்களின் கையால் விபூதி கொடுத்தால், நோய்கள் குணமாகும், தொழில் பெருகும், பணம் கொழிக்கும், மாணவர்கள் தேர்வில் தேர்ச்சி அடைய முடியும் என்று தவறாக நம்பி, சாமியார்களிடம் சென்று, தான் உழைத்துச் சேர்த்த செல்வங்களை இழக்கின்றனர், சாமியார்களால் விபூதி, சிறிய லிங்கம் போன்றவைதான் வரவழைக்க முடியும் இதற்கு மேலான பெரிய பொருட்களை வரவழைக்க முடியாது. விபூதி என்னும் சாம்பலை, சாமியார்கள் எப்படி வரவழைக்கிறார்கள் என்பதைப் பார்ப்போமா?
வடித்த சோற்றின் கஞ்சியை எடுத்து அதில் சிறிதளவு தண்ணீர் கலந்து அதனுடன் பக்திப் பரவசமூட்டும் வாசனை கலந்த விபூதியைச் சேர்த்துக் குழப்பி, பிசைந்து அக்கலவையை பட்டாணி போல சிறு சிறு உருண்டைகளாகச் செய்து வெயிலில் நன்றாகக் காய வைத்துக் கொள்வார்கள். பக்தர்கள் வரும்போது இந்த விபூதி உருண்டைகளை யாருக்கும் தெரியாதவாறு கையின் பெரு விரலுக்கும், ஆட்காட்டி விரலுக்கும் இடையில் வைத்துக் கொண்டு கை விரல்களைச் சேர்த்த நிலையில் பக்தர்களுக்கு ஆசி வழங்குவார்கள், கை விரல் இடுக்கில் விபூதி உருண்டைகள் இருப்பது பக்தர்களுக்குத் தெரியாது. பிறகு மந்திரம் போடுவது போல் நடித்து வாயை முணு முணுத்து விரலிடுக்கில் மறைத்து வைத்திருக்கும் விபூதி உருண்டையை, கையின் விரல்களை மூடித் திறப்பது போல சைகை செய்து விபூதி உருண்டைகளை விரலின் நுனியில் கொண்டு வந்து விரலால் நசுக்கிக் கம கம வாசனையுடன் வெளியாகும் சாம்பல் விபூதியைப் பக்தர்களிடம் கொடுப்பார்கள் இதை உண்மையென நம்பி பக்தியில் ஊறிய பக்தர்களும் பெரிய பெரிய தொழில் அதிபர்களும் குனிந்து இரண்டு கைகளாலும் பவ்யமாக சாம்பலை வாங்கிப் பூசிக் கொண்டு, தன் உழைப்பால் அறிவால், முயற்சியால், சம்பாதித்த பணத்தை சாமியார்களிடம் காணிக்கை என்ற பெயரில் கொடுத்துவிட்டு, கூனிக் குறுகிக் கும்பிட்டுவிட்டு வருகின்றனர்.
இவையெல்லாம் மக்களை ஏமாற்றும் தந்திரம்-தானே தவிர மந்திரமல்ல. அன்புக் குழந்தைகளே! உங்களின் பெற்றோர்களிடம் கூறி அவர்களையும், இந்தச் சமுதாயத்தையும் விழிப்படையச் செய்யுங்கள்.
வெங்கட. இராசா.ம.பொடையூர்
Sunday, 16 May 2010
நம்பிக்கையோடு உழைத்தால் வெற்றி நிச்சயம்
-தமிழக முதல்வர் கலைஞர்
posted by Mukilan Murugasan
சென்னை, மே 16_ இளைஞர்கள் நம்பிக்கை-யோடு உழைத்தால் வெற்றி நிச்சயம் என்று முதல்வர் கலைஞர் கூறினார். உலகத் தமிழ்ச் செம்மொழி மாநாட்டு மய்ய நோக்கப் பாடல் குறுந்தகடு வெளியீட்டு விழா சென்னை பல்-கலைக்கழகத்தில் சனிக்-கிழமை நடைபெற்றது. தமிழக முதல்வர் கலை-ஞர் குறுந்தகட்டை வெளியிட, அதை இசைக் கலைஞர் எல். சுப்பிர-மணியன் பெற்றுக் கொண்-டார். விழாவில் முதல்வர் கலைஞர் பேசிய-தாவது:
ரஹ்மானுடைய இசையை நான் எழுதிய வார்த்தைகளோடு குழைத்து நீங்களெல்லாம் பருகக் கூடிய அரிய வாய்ப்பு கிடைத்துள்ளது. நான் எழுதிய பாடல் தான். ஆனால், தமிழகத்-தினுடைய புலவர்கள், சங்க காலத்து பெரு-மக்கள், சங்க காலத்திற்-குப் பின்னர் வந்த கடைச் சங்க காலம், இடைச் சங்க காலம் எனப் பல்-வேறு கால கட்டங்களில் வாழ்ந்த கம்பர், காள-மேகம் ஆகியோர் காலம் வரையில் எழுதப்பட்ட கவிதைகளை, அறிவுரை-களை, கொள்கைகளை, பண்பாட்டினை, தமிழர்-களுடைய பழக்க வழக்கங்களை எல்லாம் ஒரு பாட்டில் அமைத்து, அதை எழுதுவது எவ்-வளவு பெரிய இடர்பாடு கொண்டது என்பதை நன்கு அறிவேன். பாடலை எழுதும் போது அருகில் இருந்தவர்கள், இந்தப் பாடல் வெற்றி-கரமான பாடலாக வர வேண்டும் என்று எதிர்-பார்த்தார்கள். இந்தப் பாடலை எழுதும்போது ஏற்பட்ட உணர்வை நான் மட்டுமே அறிவேன். எனது வாழ்நாளில் 10, 12 ஆண்டுகளைத் தவிர்த்து மீதியுள்ள ஆண்-டுகள் எல்லாம் தமிழ், தமிழ் என்றுதான் என் உதடுகள் உச்சரித்-திருக்கின்றன. அதனால் யார் ஒருவர் தமிழ் என்று சொன்னாலும் திரும்பிப் பார்ப்பேன், ஒன்றிக் கலந்திடுவேன், உணர்வு-களை மதிப்பேன், அதனை மதிக்கின்றவர்-கள் எங்கிருந்தாலும் அவர்களை வாழ்த்து-வேன். தரணிவாழ் கலை-ஞர்களின் இதயங்களில் குடிகொண்டிருக்கும் நம் வீட்டுப் பிள்ளை ஏ.ஆர்.-ரஹ்மானுக்கு கிடைத்த பெருமைதான் ஆஸ்கார் விருதுகள். ரஹ்மானை போன்ற இளைஞர்கள் எப்படி முன்னேறி-னார்கள் என்பதைச் சிந்-தித்துப் பார்க்க வேண்-டும். அப்படிச் செய்தால் ஒவ்வொரு இளைஞனும் முன்னேற முடியும் என்ற நம்பிக்கையைப் பெற முடியும். ஏனெனில், நம்பிக்கைதான் வாழ்வின் முதல் படி. அதில் கால் வைத்துவிட்டால் வெற்றி நிச்சயம்.
நம்பிக்கையோடு, நான் செலுத்திய உழைப்புதான் எனது முன்னேற்றத்-துக்குக் காரணம். அதே போல், ரஹ்மான் உலகப் புகழ் பெறுவதற்கு அவ-ரது நம்பிக்கை, இடை-விடாத முயற்சிதான். இது யாரோ ஒரு சிலருக்கு மட்டும் அல்ல. சமுதாயத்-தில் உள்ள எல்லா இளைஞர்களுக்கும் ஒரு உந்து சக்தியை ஏற்படுத்-தக் கூடியது. இந்த பாடல், பிறப்பொக்கும் எல்லா உயிர்க்கும் என்று தொடங்குகிறது. எல்லா உயிர்களும் பிறப்பால் ஒன்றுதான். பிறப்பு எல்லா உயிர்களுக்கும் ஒன்றேதான் என்பதுதான் அதற்கு பொருள். பிறந்த பின் என்ன என்பதுதான் இன்றைக்கு உள்ள பிரச்சினை. பிறந்த பின் எல்லோரும் ஒரே குலம், ஒரே இனம் என்ற உணர்-வைப் பெற வேண்டும். எல்லாரும் ஒரே இனம் என்ற முத்திரையுடன் வாழ வேண்டும் என்ற வகையில் இந்தப் பாடல் அமைந்திருக்கிறது. கோவை மாநாடே இந்தப் பாடலுடன்தான் ஆரம்பமாகும். இந்தப் பாடல் விளம்பரத்துக்கு பயன்படுத்தப்படும். நானே விளம்பரமாக இருந்து ஒவ்வொருவ-ரையும் மாநாட்டுக்கு அழைக்கின்றேன் என்-றார் முதல்வர் கலைஞர்.
அமைச்சர்கள் க. அன்பழகன், பரிதி இளம்-வழுதி, தலைமைச் செய-லர் கே.எஸ்.சிறீபதி, பாடகர் டி.எம்.சவுந்தர-ராஜன், சட்டப் பேரவை உறுப்பினர் பீட்டர் அல்போன்ஸ், திரைப்பட இயக்குநர் கவுதம் மேனன் உள்ளிட்டோர் விழாவில் பங்கேற்றனர்.
posted by Mukilan Murugasan
சென்னை, மே 16_ இளைஞர்கள் நம்பிக்கை-யோடு உழைத்தால் வெற்றி நிச்சயம் என்று முதல்வர் கலைஞர் கூறினார். உலகத் தமிழ்ச் செம்மொழி மாநாட்டு மய்ய நோக்கப் பாடல் குறுந்தகடு வெளியீட்டு விழா சென்னை பல்-கலைக்கழகத்தில் சனிக்-கிழமை நடைபெற்றது. தமிழக முதல்வர் கலை-ஞர் குறுந்தகட்டை வெளியிட, அதை இசைக் கலைஞர் எல். சுப்பிர-மணியன் பெற்றுக் கொண்-டார். விழாவில் முதல்வர் கலைஞர் பேசிய-தாவது:
ரஹ்மானுடைய இசையை நான் எழுதிய வார்த்தைகளோடு குழைத்து நீங்களெல்லாம் பருகக் கூடிய அரிய வாய்ப்பு கிடைத்துள்ளது. நான் எழுதிய பாடல் தான். ஆனால், தமிழகத்-தினுடைய புலவர்கள், சங்க காலத்து பெரு-மக்கள், சங்க காலத்திற்-குப் பின்னர் வந்த கடைச் சங்க காலம், இடைச் சங்க காலம் எனப் பல்-வேறு கால கட்டங்களில் வாழ்ந்த கம்பர், காள-மேகம் ஆகியோர் காலம் வரையில் எழுதப்பட்ட கவிதைகளை, அறிவுரை-களை, கொள்கைகளை, பண்பாட்டினை, தமிழர்-களுடைய பழக்க வழக்கங்களை எல்லாம் ஒரு பாட்டில் அமைத்து, அதை எழுதுவது எவ்-வளவு பெரிய இடர்பாடு கொண்டது என்பதை நன்கு அறிவேன். பாடலை எழுதும் போது அருகில் இருந்தவர்கள், இந்தப் பாடல் வெற்றி-கரமான பாடலாக வர வேண்டும் என்று எதிர்-பார்த்தார்கள். இந்தப் பாடலை எழுதும்போது ஏற்பட்ட உணர்வை நான் மட்டுமே அறிவேன். எனது வாழ்நாளில் 10, 12 ஆண்டுகளைத் தவிர்த்து மீதியுள்ள ஆண்-டுகள் எல்லாம் தமிழ், தமிழ் என்றுதான் என் உதடுகள் உச்சரித்-திருக்கின்றன. அதனால் யார் ஒருவர் தமிழ் என்று சொன்னாலும் திரும்பிப் பார்ப்பேன், ஒன்றிக் கலந்திடுவேன், உணர்வு-களை மதிப்பேன், அதனை மதிக்கின்றவர்-கள் எங்கிருந்தாலும் அவர்களை வாழ்த்து-வேன். தரணிவாழ் கலை-ஞர்களின் இதயங்களில் குடிகொண்டிருக்கும் நம் வீட்டுப் பிள்ளை ஏ.ஆர்.-ரஹ்மானுக்கு கிடைத்த பெருமைதான் ஆஸ்கார் விருதுகள். ரஹ்மானை போன்ற இளைஞர்கள் எப்படி முன்னேறி-னார்கள் என்பதைச் சிந்-தித்துப் பார்க்க வேண்-டும். அப்படிச் செய்தால் ஒவ்வொரு இளைஞனும் முன்னேற முடியும் என்ற நம்பிக்கையைப் பெற முடியும். ஏனெனில், நம்பிக்கைதான் வாழ்வின் முதல் படி. அதில் கால் வைத்துவிட்டால் வெற்றி நிச்சயம்.
நம்பிக்கையோடு, நான் செலுத்திய உழைப்புதான் எனது முன்னேற்றத்-துக்குக் காரணம். அதே போல், ரஹ்மான் உலகப் புகழ் பெறுவதற்கு அவ-ரது நம்பிக்கை, இடை-விடாத முயற்சிதான். இது யாரோ ஒரு சிலருக்கு மட்டும் அல்ல. சமுதாயத்-தில் உள்ள எல்லா இளைஞர்களுக்கும் ஒரு உந்து சக்தியை ஏற்படுத்-தக் கூடியது. இந்த பாடல், பிறப்பொக்கும் எல்லா உயிர்க்கும் என்று தொடங்குகிறது. எல்லா உயிர்களும் பிறப்பால் ஒன்றுதான். பிறப்பு எல்லா உயிர்களுக்கும் ஒன்றேதான் என்பதுதான் அதற்கு பொருள். பிறந்த பின் என்ன என்பதுதான் இன்றைக்கு உள்ள பிரச்சினை. பிறந்த பின் எல்லோரும் ஒரே குலம், ஒரே இனம் என்ற உணர்-வைப் பெற வேண்டும். எல்லாரும் ஒரே இனம் என்ற முத்திரையுடன் வாழ வேண்டும் என்ற வகையில் இந்தப் பாடல் அமைந்திருக்கிறது. கோவை மாநாடே இந்தப் பாடலுடன்தான் ஆரம்பமாகும். இந்தப் பாடல் விளம்பரத்துக்கு பயன்படுத்தப்படும். நானே விளம்பரமாக இருந்து ஒவ்வொருவ-ரையும் மாநாட்டுக்கு அழைக்கின்றேன் என்-றார் முதல்வர் கலைஞர்.
அமைச்சர்கள் க. அன்பழகன், பரிதி இளம்-வழுதி, தலைமைச் செய-லர் கே.எஸ்.சிறீபதி, பாடகர் டி.எம்.சவுந்தர-ராஜன், சட்டப் பேரவை உறுப்பினர் பீட்டர் அல்போன்ஸ், திரைப்பட இயக்குநர் கவுதம் மேனன் உள்ளிட்டோர் விழாவில் பங்கேற்றனர்.
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