My take on "the conference"

As you all know, the World Tamil Classical Language Conference (WTCLC) is currently going on in Coimbatore and every Tamilian is expected to follow this on TV. Yes, on Kalaignar TV. Having written on similar lines before, I’m forced to return to this subject because I’ve heard so many opinions that I’m compelled to offer my own. First I will try to clarify some issues that I think a lot of people have trouble understanding. Then we shall go onto the facts and some deeper stuff.

Firstly, a common misconception is that the conference is aimed at making people realize the glory of the Tamil language, which is apparently, one of only six languages in the world to be declared ‘classical’. This is what the conference is designed to make you think. If that was the purpose, the conference would have been held under the auspices of a university, with the attendees all being people who hold degrees or are otherwise qualified linguists capable of conducting research into the language. Second, many people tell me this is no different from foreign embassies spreading their languages in all other nations. This is again a misconception, no foreign embassy directly involves itself in even conducting foreign language classes, it is done by organizations devoted to the language like Alliance Française (French) and ABK Aots Dosokai (Japanese). The International Association for Tamil Research has apparently refused to recognize the WTCLC, saying it is a political stunt. I would also ask you to think about the abnormal number of members of Mr. Karunanidhi’s family presenting their so-called works at the conference. Apart from the TN chief minister himself, two of his granddaughters have presented poems at the conference. With Pratibha Patil and Surjit Singh Barnala presiding, it seems almost funny when people try to tell me there is no politics involved. Out of the eight poets who presented, seven dedicated their verses to Kalaignar, no there is no politics involved. The eighth apparently praised a guy who set himself on fire during the Sri Lankan offensive against the LTTE demanding ceasefire.

Having set the facts before you, I shall go on to my opinions. Our government has spent 380 Crore rupees on this conference. This amount has led to huge protestations among the more sensible citizens of Tamil Nadu. I, however think that the amount hardly matters. What matters is that the government has spent money on something it has no business spending. Languages are just arrangements of strokes (written) and sound (spoken). To say that one such arrangement is superior to another is pure nonsense. There have been practical difficulties in many languages and these have been corrected over the ages by borrowing and integrating other languages. Hence, this Tamil superiority is just a political tool invented by people like Anna who spotted an opportunity to create a unique vote bank. There are people, even among the highly educated who talk about superiority of languages and that is just sad. This is again a result of the foolish division of states on a linguistic basis. We have given unscrupulous politicians a chance to arouse dangerous regional passions, which they have taken with both hands. I have already tried to suggest a solution to this problem in my earlier post (read it here). The problem is especially acute in Tamil Nadu. This is apparent in the undue support LTTE receives from Tamilians all over the world. To me the LTTE is just another terrorist organization which deserves no sympathy from any of us. It is in fact, beneficial to us that the Sri Lankan army quelled the uprising and killed its main leaders as this will stop the refugee problem in Tamil Nadu. This is equivalent to Urdu-speakers supporting the Pakistan-based terrorists because of their common language. Yes, that’s how ridiculous it really is.

To conclude, I’d like to congratulate our Kalaignar (artist) on a grand success in his real Kalai (art), swindling.