Topic: Tamil History
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TRACING THE TAMILS PAST
AMIDST LETHARGY OF RULERS
Tamils had scaled greater heights in ancient times, and their mathematical skills wherein one out of eight lakh fractions was the least small quantity up to which they could calculate without a calculator or computer. The theorem of Pythagoras could be spelt out in poetic form in Tamil much before his times. Erambam, Kanakathigaram by Kakkai Padiniyar, Kilaralabham, Athisaram, Kalambaham,Tiribuvana Thilagam, Kanitha rathinam,Sirukanakku were the books which I refered says Kaari Nayanar who wrote Kanakathigaram, But all these books Tamils have lost.
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“ Underworld : The Mysterious origins of Civilizations” Nandhivarman urged Tamil scholars to read English books on civilizations to know more and substantiate about the facts relating to the Kumari Kandam, lost in Indian Ocean. Mr.Graham Hancock, the author of this book relying heavily on the inundation maps by Dr.Gelen Milne of Durham University had said 5 percent of the Earth’s surface or 25 million square kilometers were submerged. Three super floods in between 15000 to 14000 thousand years, 12000 to 11000 thousand years, and 8000 to 7000 thousand years have swallowed earth’s surface, more particularly the Kumari Kandam. Researches into the lost civilizations so far had been on earth surface and land-centric and in the vast oceans marine archaeology had barely begun to investigate.
So until scientific researches in marine archeology are undertaken it would be difficult to supplement literary evidences about hoary past. All earth’s continents and land mass had been once upon a time one, and called Pangaea, which in Latin means All Earth. Similarly all languages emanated from one language and a school for Nostratic languages subscribes to this theory. There is book on all writing systems. All these lead to the conclusion that mankind is one, and we had our origins in Africa and spread every where. But our link is lost in the seas. It will take long time to reconstruct Tamil’s past but with available evidences, we will have to start.
Ancient Tamils were highly knowledgeable and had high living standards in ancient times but at same Tamils proved that from mathematics to medicine everything could be condensed within Tamil poetry and grammatical rules. But today though Tamils earn more they remain arivu koolies to the multi nationals and they had forgotten Tamil. Hence ancient times were golden times.
Tamils had slept in midway thereby lost chances to win the race and prove they are the top in human civilization. This loss aggravates further when Tamil rulers with all there power in Center could not secure Tamil its due place.
UNESCO from 1999 onwards is celebrating World Mother Tongues Day every year on February 21. It is in remembrance of the Basha Andolan Dibosh, which means Language Struggle of 1950-52 in East Pakistan currently known as Bangladesh. Then Pakistan Government imposed Urdu as sole official language of Pakistan. East Pakistan had Bengali speakers. So in protest against this order Dhaka University Students and Medical College students staged a protest demonstration. In Police firing 5 people lost their lives on 21 st Feb 1952. The struggle won Bengali equal status with Urdu. To honour the memory of those martyrs UNESCO had chosen Feb 21 as World Mother Languages Day.
We all know the Anti-Hindi Agitation and the numerous lives we lost including self immolation. All that history was not placed before UNESCO with documentary evidences to prove that Tamil struggle is of greater magnitude. This failure of those who ruled Tamilnadu and Tamil Ministers in Union Cabinet had deprived a chance where world history could have spoken about our struggle by celebrating as World Mother Languages Day. Amidst such failures, selfishness of present Tamils not to think about Tamil language we have to bank upon our past to regain the lost spirit of being pioneers in world civilizations.
Dravida Peravai General Secretary Nandhivarman
