Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami writes letter to PM Modi

Asking why there was no representation chosen from Tamil Nadu or any of the southern states in the 16-member expert panel constituted to study the origin and evolution of India’s ancient culture, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. 

Pointing out that the 16-member expert panel set up did not constitute of members from south, northeast, Dalit and minority representatives nor women, CM EPS in his letter requested Prime Minister Modi to personally intervene and direct the Ministry of Culture to reconstitute the committee. 

Union Culture Minister Prahlad Patel during the ongoing Monsoon Session told the Lok Sabha that the panel has been set up to study the origin and evolution of Indian culture dating back to around 12,000 years ago. Talking about the state’s glorious past being home to one of the oldest civilizations - Dravidian Civilization, EPS said it was a living and thriving culture in the south of India.

“The recent archaeological excavations in Keezhadi and other parts of Tamil Nadu reveal that the world reputed Sangam era can now be dated back to as early as 6th century BCE. This places Tamil culture and language as one of the oldest surviving languages in the world,” the letter read.

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Urging the Prime Minister to reminisce the time he spent at Mahabalipuram last year for the second informal summit with the Chinese premier Xi Jinping, the Tamil Nadu CM observed that the Prime Minister himself had taken note of the awe-inspiring timeless monuments and the glorious legacy of Tamil heritage in full splendour. “You will, therefore, agree with me that any chronicle of Indian history and culture would be grossly incomplete without giving its rightful place to Tamil Culture and Language,” stated EPS.

“It is surprising that the Ministry of Culture has chosen to ignore experts from Tamil Nadu while setting up the said committee. I, therefore, on behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu, request you to personally intervene and direct the Ministry of Culture to reconstitute the expert committee by inducting eminent scholars from Tamil Nadu,” he added.

DMK MP and member of parliament, Kanimozhi, a few days earlier had taken to Twitter to question why the Ministry of Culture while constituting the panel had left out minority leaders while constituting the panel. “Why wasn’t even a single minority member appointed by the central government for the panel study? Shouldn’t Dalit’s and other minority talk about Indian Culture? Or are they not deemed respectable to speak about it,?” she questioned. 

S U Venkatesan, Madurai MP and writer, a few days earlier had told the Lok Sabha that the committee constituted by the centre should be dissolved as it “lacked diversity”. “The panel doesn’t have any representatives from the south, northeast India, minorities, Dalits or women. The panel has representatives only from the upper-caste Hindu community. It has no scholars from southern classical languages, Is there no India below the Vindhyas? Is there no civilization apart from Vedic?” he asked.

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(Image Credits- PTI)