An Indian politician has announced controversial steps to promote the Tamil language in his country.
Speaking at the World Classical Tamil Conference last week, M. Karunanidhi, Chief Minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, demanded that the Indian government recognize Tamil as an official language.
He also said that Tamil should be the official language of the Madras High Court, that learners of Tamil should be given priority in government employment, and that Classical Tamil should be added to the syllabuses of all schools in the state.
The declarations have been widely interpreted as a political move by Karunanidhi's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) to gain popularity before next year's elections.
Journalist Nandini Krishnan, writing for Chennai-based website Sify.com, said the moves would dissuade foreign investors, push non-Tamil speakers out of the region, and infringe on the rights of Indian citizens.
"How is imposing Tamil any different from imposing Hindi?" an anonymous conference attendee asked. DMK itself originated from opposition to attempts to push Hindi as India's only official language.
The conference itself was controversial. Karunanidhi organized it as a replacement for the World Tamil Conference, after leaders of the latter refused to allow him to convene the gathering. Gopu Mohan of the Indian Express, accused the Chief Minister of "hijacking" the event.
According to Sify.com, at least one attendee claimed people attended simply because they did not want to be blacklisted by the state government.
A specially instituted body, the World Tholkappiyar Classical Tamil Sangam, would be responsible for organizing future conferences "at regular intervals," it was announced.
28 June 2010
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