Health of the Tamil language: A French Perspective
TAMIL TRIBUNE, May 2004 (ID. 2004-05-01)
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I am a French born Tamil student brought up and living in France. I am 21.
I have just read the article "Health of the Tamil language: An American Perspective" by Mr. Gerard
Pelletier [Reference 1]. I understand perfectly well what he must have felt. The first time that I came across these English words modified by
Tamil pronunciation I was surprised, but not shocked in the sense that we are doing the same thing here in France. We are "borrowing" English words and adding a French accent to it. It sounds ridiculous for any English native speaker or even people like me studying English. And as Mr.
Pelletier says it can be dangerous if
a language looses its integrity.
One has to bear in mind that India underwent 400 years of colonization by the British. And contrary to other states such as Bengal or Punjab, Tamil Nadu came up with few martyrs like
Tilak just to quote one. I know that Tamil nationalists will hate me but Tamil people were too "loyal" and "too passive" toward the British. Moreover few mutinies, rebellions took place in Tamil Nadu.
This is, according to me, one of the reasons why English language has such an undue
influence on Tamil language.
I do not want to hurt anyone but this needed to be said.
EDITOR'S RESPONSE
Thank you for the well-thought feedback to the article "Health of the Tamil language: An American Perspective" by Mr. Gerard Pelletier [Reference 1]. Now we have a French perspective also. It adds to our understanding of how people see us from the outside. You look at it from your own experience living in another culture and we can learn from it.
You are right on target when you point out that both the French and Tamil languages are borrowing words from English. I understand that France has taken some steps to at least partially stop unnecessary borrowing from English. I often thought that Tamil Nadu State Government should take some such measures to "protect" Tamil language from English inroads into the language.
Regarding your comments about Tamil Nadu's contribution (or lack of it) in the independence struggle against British colonial rule, I asked Mr. Thanjai Nalankilli to respond. Following is his response.
THANJAI NALANKILLI'S
COMMENTS
I agree with Ms. Dedella that English influence in Tamil Nadu is the result of
British
colonial rule. However I do not agree that Tamils did not fight against British
rule as
much as some other states did. I very well understand how Ms. Dedella and
millions of others within India and elsewhere get that idea. The source of this
misinformation is Indian history books and school curricula funded,
sponsored and/or approved by the Indian Government. Indian history books
(including many high school history books) revolve around the
history of the Hindi heartland and regions close by. History of other regions,
such as the south and the northeast are virtually ignored. There is a concerted
effort by successive Indian Governments to project the history of the north
(especially the Hindi heartland and nearby regions) as the history of India.
This is not just my view, even many learned scholars hold that view.
On February 12, 2002, the Twenty Ninth All-India Conference of Dravidian Linguistics held in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala State,
passed a resolution urging the Government of India to give South India its rightful and legitimate share in history books and to withdraw the new school syllabus prepared and published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)". [Editor's Note: In the school history book published by NCERT, no mention is made of Tamil kings at all, even of Emperor Raja Raja Cholan-I [Reference 2] or his son Emperor Rajendra Cholan-I whom historians consider amongst the greatest of kings in all South Asian history].
If you ask students of Indian history, most would say that the north-Indian "Sepoy mutiny" was the first mutiny and first war of independence from British colonial rule. But is Sepoy mutiny of the north the first such mutiny or war of independence from British colonial rule? Fifty-one years before the Sepoy mutiny was the Vellore mutiny (Vellore is in Tamil Nadu). Sepoy mutiny took pace in 1857 and Vellore mutiny took place in 1806. There are many similarities between the two mutinies. Both mutinies started because of new regulations that hurt the religious sentiments of Hindu and Muslim soldiers in the British army. The Vellore mutineers attempted to bring back the defeated sons of Tippu Sultan to power (Tippu Sultan was a southern king whose sons were living in Vellore under British pension). The Sepoy mutineers attempted to bring back the defeated Emperor Bahadur Shah to power (Bahadur Shah was a northern king who was living in Delhi under British pension). A major difference is that Indian history books prepared under Indian Government sponsorship devote several pages to the Sepoy mutiny of the north while ignoring the Vellore mutiny of the south. While Indian Government sponsored Indian history books ignore the Vellore mutiny, books on British India by British authors do not fail to spotlight Vellore mutiny. The authoritative "The Colonial Wars Source Book" by Philip Haythornthwaite gives an account of the Vellore mutiny. The importance of the Vellore mutiny is evident from the statement, "In 1806 there occurred one of the most serious outbreaks of mutiny", in the fore-mentioned book. It was also the first mutiny in British India. Yet Indian Government sponsored history books ignore it.
During the Sepoy mutiny, taking advantage of the mutiny and the weakening of the British army, some north Indian kings and chieftains started a war of independence. It was limited to the north and did not spread to the south at all. Indian Government and history books project this as the first war of independence or first proclamation of independence from the British rule. Not true. You will not find much, if any, about the Tamil Chieftain Maruthu Pandiyar and his brother in Indian history books. Maruthu Pandyar was the first to issue a proclamation of independence from British rule, 56 years before the north Indian rebellion during the Sepy mutiny [Reference 3]. He did so from Thiruchi Thiruvarangam Temple (Tamil Nadu) on June 10, 1801; that was more than half a century before the Sepoy mutiny. British considered it a serious threat to their future in India that they rushed additional troops from Britain to put down Maruthu Pandyar's rebellion. This southern rebellion and the northern rebellion during Sepoy mutiny had many commonalities. In the same way a number of northern kings and chieftains joined together and fought against the British and lost during the Sepoy mutiny, a number of kings and chieftains of the south joined and fought and lost. The only difference is that Indian history books that glorify Sepoy mutiny make no mention of the southern rebellion.
Indian Government deliberately tries to hide historical facts such as Maruthu Pandiyar's fight against the British. Indian Government celebrated the 100-th anniversary of the Sepoy mutiny with great fanfare. There were numerous programs about the mutiny in the Indian Government controlled All India Radio. But not even a mention was made in All India Radio about Maruthu Pandiyar led rebellion against the British on either its 150-th anniversary or its 200-th anniversary. Even a request by some Tamil leaders that the Government issue a postage stamp honoring Maruthu Pandiyar brothers on the two-hundredth anniversary of their execution by the British in1801 was denied. No stamp was issued. The same Indian Government had issued a stamp in honor of Hindi-belt Jansi Rani who participated in the Sepoy mutiny.
Now let us come to more recent history. Do you know who was one of the earliest associates of Mahatma Gandhi? A South African Tamil lady named Thillaiyadi Valliammai. She worked with Gandhi in his early years when he toned his nonviolent methods in South Africa, fighting the apartheid there. It is these techniques that he would later use in India against British colonial rule. Valliammai joined Gandhi's movement at the age of 16 and died during the anti-apartheid agitation. Gandhi said that her sacrifice increased his resolve to fight. In 1998 some Tamil leaders requested the Government of India to issue a postage stamp in her honor on the hundredth anniversary. The Indian Government would not it.
Ms. Dedella mentioned the name of Tilak. There is a compatriot of Tilak named V.O. Chidambaram (1872-1936) from Tamilnadu. He was also called V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, V.O. Chidambaranar and VOC. He was the first person from the Indian Subcontinent to start and operate a Modern Shipping Company against the active opposition of British colonial rulers. He was also an active participant in the independence movement against the British and was imprisoned from 1908 to 1912. In prison he was forced to drive an oil press. Let me explain what I mean by "drive an oil press". Oil presses (to squeeze oil from coconut or other nuts) are usually driven by bulls (oxen). Mr. VOC was tied to an oil press in place of a bullock and was forced to drive it exactly the way a bull would do. It is a form of corporal punishment the British imposed on some prisoners. He was very much respected and honored in Tamil Nadu, and is known as "kappalooddiya Tamilan" (a Tamil who operated ships) and "sekkizuththa semmal" (a honorable man who drove oil presses). You will not find even a brief biography of V.O. Chidambaram in Indian history books. Had he been born in the north, things would have been different.
One can write a multi-volume book on those from Tamil Nadu who fought against British rule. I gave here just a few examples. I very well understand why Ms. Dedella and millions of others think that Tamil Nadu did not participate fully in the fight against British rule. This is because the Indian Government and history books it sponsors hide the contribution of the south while spotlighting contributions from the north. The reason is that Indian Government is controlled by Hindi speaking politicians (north-central India) and they want to project the impression that it is the north, especially the Hindi heartland and nearby areas, that is the core of India and those from the south and northeast are peripheral. As I noted earlier, Even the All-India Conference of Dravidian Linguistics was critical of the Indian Government for ignoring South Indian history in history books and school syllabus it sponsors and/or funds.
Ms. Dedella writes, "I know that Tamil nationalists will hate me but Tamil people were too 'loyal' and 'too passive' toward the British....I do not want to hurt anyone but this needed to be said." I am a Tamil Nationalist. No Nathalie, I do not hate you, neither am I hurt. I assure you, no Tamil nationalist will hate you for what you wrote because you wrote what you honestly thought on the basis of the books you read. Actually, I appreciate you writing your views honestly and openly. That gave me the opportunity to give a few examples of Tamil people's contribution in the fight against British rule, some or all of which may be new to TAMIL TRIBUNE readers.
REFERENCES
1. Health of the Tamil language: An American Perspective (by Gerard A. Pelletier), TAMIL TRIBUNE, April 2004 (5 KB)
2. Why is Emperor Raja Raja Cholan Standing outside the Thanjai Big Temple? (by Thanjai Nalankilli), TAMIL TRIBUNE, April 2001 (14 KB)
3. Nine Hundred Year Historical Perspective of how Tamil Nadu lost its Sovereignty and How Selfish Politicians are selling out Tamil National Rights Today: Part II (by Thanjai Nalankilli), TAMIL TRIBUNE, February 2002 (28 KB) (Specifically see Section 6.2)
NOTE: Tamil and other names are sometimes spelled differently by different authors. Here are some variations of spellings of names used in this article:
Chidamparanar - Chithamparanar
Jansi - Jhansi
Maruthu Pandiyar - Maruthu Pandiar
Tamil Nadu - Tamilnadu
Thiruchi - Trichi, (also called Thiruchirapalli, Tiruchirapalli)
Thiruvarangam - Tiruvarangam
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