Judgment:
(Prayer: Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for issue of a Writ of Mandamus directing the 1st respondent to implement the communication dated 11.02.2015 sent by the Directorate of Tamil Development and to take appropriate steps to teach Tamil Language to Non Tamils throughout India by way of starting Correspondence Course through Thanjavur Tamil Univrsity within the time stipulated by this Court.)
(Prayer amended vide Court order dated 26.11.2015 in M.P. NO. 1/2015)
N. Kirubakaran, J.
1. What is the use of conducting World Tamil Conferences spending crores and crores of rupees, without serving for the cause of the language and what is the use of calling Tamil as a Classical Language, unless it is passed on to the next generation by Tamils?
2. Tamil is an ancient classical language, which has got a rich heritage and literature. The well-known Sangam Literature dates back to 300 BC to AD 300. The earliest Tamil literature, Tholgappiyam, which is an early work on Tamil Grammar and Poetics, dates back to 1st century B.C. Tamil Brahmi inscriptions from 500 B.C. have been found in Aadichanallur in Tamil Nadu and a 2200 year old Tamil Brahmi inscriptions have been found located at Samanamalai. It is being said that Tamil was nurtured and developed by Pandya Kings by establishment of three Sangams, where Tamil poets and Tamil Scholars used to assemble, discuss, deliberate and research about the literature for the development of Tamil language. The two earliest manuscripts from India, acknowledged and registered by UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 1997 and 2005 were written in Tamil. What has been registered by UNESCO in 2005 are saiva manuscripts, namely, 11,000 palm leaflets and paper manuscripts in Tamil dating from 6th century A.D. to the start of colonial period, are kept at the French Institute of Pondicherry. More than 55% of the epigraphical inscriptions (about 55,000/-) found by the Archaelogical Survey of India are in Tamil language. Tamil language inscriptions written in Brahmi script have been discovered in Srilanka, Thailand and Egypt. An Archaeological team from University of Southampton, United Kingdom, comprising Professor D. Peacock and Dr.L. Blue re-opened excavations at Quseir al Qadim, an ancient Port with Roman settlement on the Red Sea Coast of Egypt and found broken storage jar with inscriptions in Tamil Brahmi script , which has been dated to 1st century B.C.
3. Tamil is the official language of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands and one of the languages listed under the VIII Schedule of the Constitution of India. It is also one of the national and official languages of Srilanka along with Sinhalese. As per Section 7 of the Republic of Singapore Independence Act, Tamil is one of the official languages of Singapore along with Malai, Mandarin and English. In Singapore and Malaysia, Tamil is taught in primary and secondary school levels. In fact, in Ontario, Canada, the month of January has been declared as "Tamil Heritage Month" by passing "Heritage Month Act, 2014" by Ontario Government. It is the 15th widely spoken languages in the world and approximately 1% of world population speak Tamil. Tamil Diaspora is spread all over the world, namely, Malaysis, Singapore, Srilanks, Mauritius, Indonesia, Figi, ReUnion South Africa, Myanmar (Burma) and Trinidad. Apart from that, Srilankan Tamils, who got settled in various countries like United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Netherlands, France, are evincing keen interest to teach Tamil to their children. Whereas, in the State of Tamil Nadu, Tamil is not passed on to the next generation.
4. Here is a person, who has come before this Court to make his contribution for the development of Tamil, in a small way. His grievance is that though Tamil has been declared as a classical language, it is not widespread and well-known outside the State of Tamil Nadu. Hence, he gave a representation to the respondents to take all necessary steps to teach Tamil language through correspondence course to Non-Tamils. In the representation, he pointed out that the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development is offering Hindi Certificate and Diploma Correspondence Course, at a nominal cost of Rs.50/- to Rs.200/- respectively for all Indians, whose mother tongue is not Hindi as well as to foreigners and Non-Resident Indians. The said representation was given on 16.03.2013. The Deputy Secretary, Tamil Development Department, through letter dated 17.07.2013, wrote to Tamil University, Thanjavur, to give a proposal with regard to implementation of the request made by the petitioner namely, teaching Tamil through correspondence course to Non-Tamils. The Tamil University, Thanjavur, by its proposal dated 19.05.2014 informed the Director of Tamil Development, Directorate of Tamil Development, Chennai, of the estimated cost of Rs.37,36,300/- for starting a Correspondence Course to teach Non-Tamils. Thereafter, the petitioner submitted a petition on 24.11.2014 to the Deputy Secretary, Tamil Development Department, to implement the scheme given by Thanjavur Tamil University by releasing a sum of Rs.37,36,300/- to the said University. On 03.12.2014, the Deputy Secretary, Tamil Development Department, informed the petitioner that some more information was sought from the Directorate of Tamil Development in that regard.
5. Though the Directorate of Tamil Development gave all the information to the Deputy Secretary, Tamil Development Department , by letter dated 11.02.2015 and sought suitable orders, in that regard, no action was taken. Hence, the petitioner gave another representation on 25.05.2015 requesting the release of the said amount of Rs. 37,36,300/- to Thanjavur Tamil University. However, the Deputy Secretary, Tamil Development Department, through letter dated 26.08.2015, informed that action is being taken to teach Tamil to Non-Tamils through Correspondence Course and policy decision is yet to be taken in this regard. Later, on 15.09.2015, the Directorate of Tamil Development informed that the petitioner's request has been acceded to. However, till date, no action has been taken. Hence, the petitioner is before this Court seeking a Writ of Mandamus directing the 1st respondent to implement the communication dated 11.02.2015 sent by the Directorate of Tamil Development and to take appropriate steps to teach Tamil Language to Non Tamils throughout India by way of starting Correspondence Course through Thanjavur Tamil University within the time stipulated by this Court.
6. Heard Mr.N. Anantha Padmanabhan, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. V.R. Shanmuganathan, learned Special Government Pleader for the respondents.
7. It is seen that the petitioner has been making representations right from 16.03.2013 requesting the Government to take steps to teach Tamil to Non-Tamils by starting Correspondence Course. In spite of Tamil University, Thanjavur, sending a detailed proposal on 19.05.2013, quoting Rs.37,36,300/-, being the estimated cost, for starting Correspondence Course and in spite of getting approval from the Directorate of Tamil Development on 11.02.2015, the Government has not done anything in this regard. Even after coming to know about the plea of the petitioner, right from the year 2013, the Government has not moved an inch in considering the petitioner's request and therefore, he has been made to approach this Court for a direction in this regard. When the Directorate of Tamil Development approved the proposal given by the Tamil University, Thanjavur, on 11.02.2015 and the Government had also written to the petitioner on 26.08.2015 that his request is under consideration, nothing much has been done thereafter. Therefore, this Court, by moulding the prayer, has to necessarily, direct the respondents, especially, the 1st respondent positively to act upon the proposal sent by Thanjavur Tamil University, as approved by the Directorate of Tamil Development, and sanction Rs.37,36,300/- or more, if required, as on date, to start a Correspondence Course, at a nominal cost, to teach Tamil not only to Non-Tamils, but also to Tamils, within a period of 12 weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. The writ petition is ordered accordingly. No costs.
8. Dr.George L.Hart, a Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Wisconsin Madison and the Professor of Tamil at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote about the Tamil as follows:
I have spent many years most of my life (since 1963) studying Sanskrit. I have read in the original all of Kalidasa, Magha and parts of Bharavi and Sri Harsa. I have also read in the original the fifth book of the Rig Veda as well as many other sections, many of the Upanisads, most of the Mahabharata, the Kathasaritsagara, Adi Sankara's works and many other works in Sanskrit.
I say this not because I wish to show my erudition, but rather to establish my fitness for judging whether a literature is classical. Let me state unequivocally that, by any criteria one may choose, Tamil is one of the great classical literatures and traditions of the world.
The reasons for this are many; let me consider them one by one.
First, Tamil is of considerable antiquity. It predates the literatures of other modern Indian languages by more than a thousand years. Its oldest work, the Tolkappiyam, contains parts that, judging from the earliest Tamil inscriptions, date back to about 200 BC. The greatest works of ancient Tamil, the Sangam anthologies and the Pattuppattu, date to the first two centuries of the current era. They are the first great secular body of poetry written in India, predating Kalidasa's works by two hundred years.
Second, Tamil constitutes the only literary tradition indigenous to India that is not derived from Sanskrit. Indeed, its literature arose before the influence of Sanskrit in the South became strong and so is qualitatively different from anything we have in Sanskrit or other Indian languages. It has its own poetic theory, its own grammatical tradition, its own esthetics, and, above all, a large body of literature that is quite unique. It shows a sort of Indian sensibility that is quite different from anything in Sanskrit or other Indian languages, and it contains its own extremely rich and vast intellectual tradition.
Third, the quality of classical Tamil literature is such that it is fit to stand beside the great literatures of Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Chinese, Persian and Arabic. The subtlety and profundity of its works, their varied scope (Tamil is the only premodern Indian literature to treat the subaltern extensively) and their universality qualify Tamil to stand as one of the great classical traditions and literatures of the world. Everyone knows the Tirukkural, one of the world's greatest works on ethics; but this is merely one of a myriad of major and extremely varied works that comprise the Tamil classical tradition. There is not a facet of human existence that is not explored and illuminated by this great literature .
(Emphasis supplied)
9. A Czhechoslovakian Indologist, by name, Prof. Dr. Kamil Vaclav Zvelebil, in his work "Tamil Culture", made an appeal under the heading "The Tamil Contribution to World's Civilisation" and said:
"There is no doubt that the culture of the Tamils belongs to the great and immortal treasures of the world's civilisation.
From my own experience, however, I can say that even those who claim to have a wide outlook and deep education, both Indians and Europeans, are not aware of this fact. And it is the task of the Tamils themselves, and of those sympathetic mlecchas who try to interpret Tamil culture, to acquaint the world's cultural public with the most important contributions of Tamil culture to the world's civilisation.
As far as literary works are concerned, it is necessary before all to make them accessible to a wide public of readers by means of artistic translations into the world's great languages; with regard to works of arts and architecture, it is necessary to make them a common treasure of the world with the help of publications giving detailed and perfect reproductions . This may be achieved through the UNESCO as well as through the work of individual scholars and local Institutions; this should also be one of the main tasks of the Academy of Tamil Culture.
The following works of art and literature are among the most remarkable contributions of the Tamil creative genius to the world's cultural treasure and should be familiar to the whole world and admired and beloved by all in the same way as the poems of Homer, the dramas of Shakespeare, the pictures of Rembrandt, the cathedrals of France and the sculptures of Greece:
1. The ancient Tamil lyrical poetry compiled in "The Eight Anthologies"...
2. The Thirukural, ................
3. The epical poem Cilappathikaram,.............
4. The school of Bhakthi both Vaishnava and Saiva................and its supreme literary expression in the works of Manikkavasagar, Tirugnana Sambandar, Nammalwar and Andal.
5. The philosophical system of Saiva Sidhdhantha,...........
6. The South Indian Bronzes of the Chola period.............
7. The Dravidian Temple Architecture.............
These seven different forms of contribution without which the world would be definitely less rich and less happy, should engage the immediate attention of all who are interested in Tamil culture; they should all dedicate their time and efforts to make known (and well and intimately known) to the whole of the world these heights of Tamil creative genius".
Such is the greatness of our mother tongue, Tamil.
10. It was Father Beschi (Veerama Munivar), who came to India in the 18th Century as a missionary, who translated the immortal Thirukkural in Latin and thereby exhibited the beauty and literary value of Tamil to the Western World. This was the maiden step taken, by a foreigner, to familiarise Tamil throughout the world. After a century, G.U. Pope translated Thirukkural and Thiruvasagam in English. In 1886, Dr. M. Winslow, a Christian Missionary, compiled a comprehensive dictionary called "Winslow's Tamil and English Dictionary". The above works are early steps taken in the right direction for development of Tamil language, that too, by foreigners. Recently, Western Scholars, namely, Prof. Dr. Kamil Vaclav Zvelebil (Czechoslovakia), James Malten (Germany), Dr. George Hart (University of California, Berkeley), Harold Schiffman (Pennsylvania), Zean Luc Chevilliard (Paris), etc, have contributed much for the development of Tamil through their research works and translation. When Western Scholars exhibit keen interest in learning and understanding Tamil and do research and development, it is the duty of every Tamil, atleast, to save the language from becoming extinct.
11. Tamil is the first Indian language to be declared as a classical language by the Government of India in 2004 through G.O.Ms.No. 362 Home (Course-III). Many may not be aware of the fact that Tamil was retained as Second Language in Haryana, right from its formation till it was replaced by Punjabi in 2010. The very fact that a Hindi Speaking State had chosen Tamil as Second Language would speak volumes about the heritage and literary value of the language.
12. As already stated, Tamil is widely spoken in many countries and Srilankan Tamils got settled in various parts of the world. Therefore, it has become a necessity, on the part of the Government to teach Tamil language, not only to Non-Tamils, but also to Tamils, who are living abroad and who do not have access to learning Tamil. The Government of Tamil Nadu should come out with various schemes and scholarships to encourage learning of Tamil by one and all.
13. Tamil Scholars, Intellectuals and literary icons should be appreciated and encouraged, for their genuine works done for the upliftment of the language. Then only, there will be scope for development of Tamil language. If not for development, at least, to keep the language alive, by passing it on to the next generation, children should be taught about the basics of Tamil language. Otherwise, a time would come when people would not be able to know about Tamil Literature and the value of Tamil Literature.
14. Therefore, it should be the endeavour of the Central Government, State Government and every Tamilian to contribute their mite for research and development of Tamil and take effective steps to teach Tamil to non-Tamils, foreigners and also to those Tamils, who are residing out of India. Therefore, this Court, in an endeavour to preserve and promote Tamil language, gives the following suggestions:
(a) The State Government should fund and promote Tamil language by awarding scholarships to scholars and students for their research work and for books;
(b) The State Government should come forward to fund translation of Tamil Literature in various other language and likewise, the Great Literature of other languages, in Tamil;
(c) Tamil Scholars, Intellectuals and Literary Icons should be recognised, encouraged and appreciated for the purpose of research and development in Tamil;
(d) Affluent Tamils, in various walks of life, should come forward to generously contribute for research works in Tamil and also take initiative to establish Tamil Chairs in various Universities for promotion of the language;
(e) The State Government should interact with various Tamil Organisations, active in various parts of the World and make arrangements to teach Tamils living there so that Tamils, who are residing abroad would be benefitted and the language would be passed on to the next generation.