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Tamil nationalism

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For other uses, see Tamil nationalism (disambiguation).

Tamil nationalism is a strong aspiration by some Tamils to establish, at minimum, self determination. The ideology of Tamil nationalism is to seek to preserve and modernize Tamil language and culture, unite Tamils across boundaries, eradicate caste discrimination within Tamils, emancipate and empower Tamil women, uplift the economic status of Tamils, and to securely establish Tamil identity in a globalized world.

Language loyalty in the pre-modern period

Although nationalism itself is a modern phenomenon, scholars such as Steever trace its origins to the "loyalty to Tamil" visible in Sangam literature.[1] The poems of Sangam literature imply a consciousness of independence or separateness from neighbouring regions, which is significantly stronger than suggested by the archaeological evidence as to the material culture of the Tamil region.[2] Similarly, Silappadhikaaram, a post-Sangam epic, posits a cultural integrity for the entire Tamil region[3] and has been interpreted by Parthasarathy as presenting "an expansive vision of the Tamil imperium" which "speaks for all Tamils."[4] Subrahmanian sees in the epic the first expression of Tamil nationalism,[3] while Parthasarathy says that the epic shows "the beginnings of Tamil separatism."[5]

Medieval Tamil texts also demonstrate many features that characterize modern Tamil nationalism, most notably the claim of parity of status with Sanskrit which was traditionally seen in the rest of the Indian subcontinent as being a prestigious, trans-local language. Texts on prosody and poetics such as the 10th century Yaapparungalakkaarihai and the 11th century Veerasoazhiyam, for example, treat Tamil as the equal of Sanskrit in terms of literary prestige, and use the rhetorical device of describing Tamil as a beautiful young lady and as a pure, divine language[6] both of which are also central in modern Tamil nationalism.[7] Vaishnavite[8] and Shaivite[9] commentators took the claim of divinity one step further, claiming for Tamil a liturgical status, and seeking to endow Tamil texts with the status of a "fifth Veda."[10] Vaishnavite commentators such as Nanjiyar went one step further, declaring that people who were not Tamil lamented the fact that they were not born in a place where such a wonderful language was spoken.[11] This trend was not universal, and there were also authors who sought to argue and work against Tamil distinctiveness through, amongst other things, Sanskritisation.[12] Nonetheless, it was on these sentiments of emphasizing loyalty to Tamil and the distinctiveness of the Tamil language that Tamil nationalism was built.

Tamil Nadu

An official signboard in Tamil Nadu, which praises the Tamil language

The Indian Tamil Nationalism is the smaller section of the Dravidian nationalism which consisted of all the four major language in the South India. The Dravidian Nationalism was popularized by a series of small movements and organizations that contended that the South Indians, without the Brahmins, formed a racial and a cultural entity that was different from the north Indians. This particular moment claimed that the Brahmins were originally from the north and they imposed their language, Sanskrit, religion and heritage on the southern people. A new morphed ideology of the Dravidian nationalism gained momentum within the Tamil speakers during the 1930 and 1950. The Tamil Nationalism was thus based on three ideologies: dismantling of Brahmin hegemony; revitalization of pure Tamil Language and social reform by abolition of existing caste systems, religious practices and recasting women’s equal position in the society. By the late 1960, the political parties who were espousing Dravidian ideologies gained power within the state of Tamil Nadu[13]. Subsequently the Nationalist ideologies lead to the argument by Tamil leaders that, at minimal, that Tamils must have self determination or, at maximum, secession from India[14] Since the 1969 election victory of DMK under C. N. Annadurai, Tamil nationalism has been a permanent feature of the government of Tamil Nadu. After the Tamil people achieved self determination the claim for secession became weaker with most mainstream political parties, except a fringe few, are committed to development of Tamil Nadu within a united India. Most major Tamil Nadu regional parties such as DMK, AIADMK, PMK and MDMK frequently participate as coalition partners of other pan-Indian parties in the Union Government of India at New Delhi. The inability of the National Parties of India to comprehend and captalize Tamil nationalism is one of the main reasons for the lack of presence in Modern Tamil Nadu. The modern day Tamil Nationalism have actually contributed to a more flaccid celebration of Tamil identity and the ‘uplift’ of the poor.[15]

Cross-straits nationalism

In October 2008, amongst an alleged build up in shelling into the Tamil civilian areas by the Lankan military, with the army moving in on the LTTE and the navy battling the latter's sea patrol, Indian Tamil MPs, including those supporting the Singh government in the DMK and PMK, threatened to resign en masse if the Indian government did not pressure the Lankan government to cease firing on civilians. In response, to this strain of nationalistic pressure, the Indian government reported it had upped the ante on the Lankan government to ease tensions.[16]

Tamil nationalists turn out in support of the Eelam rebels when Chennai-based The Hindu was alleged to have been supporting the Government of Sri Lanka. Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, N. Ram named members of the Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, Thamizh-th Thaeciyap Podhuvudaimaik Katchi, some lawyers, and law college students as responsible for incidents of vandalism at their offices. Ram came out with a strongly worded statement against the attackers, and also criticized "chauvinism" and the "terrorist Tamil Tigers."[17]

National mysticism

Tamil nationalism has given rise to various doctrines of national mysticism, such as Thaevanaeyap Paavaanar's Kumarik Kandam, a continent spanning the Indian Ocean, submerged in 16,000 BC, or an "original Veda" composed by Mamuni Mayan some 10,000 years ago.[citation needed]

Criticism

Critics of Tamil Nationalism believe that it is built on flimsy theoretical grounds. The theory on which Dravidian Nationalism is based, of which Tamil Nationalism is a subset, contends that India once faced an invasion, about 5,000 years ago, from fair-skinned Aryans from Central Asia who fought and pushed the native dark-skinned Dravidians to the south, bringing into Dravidian society elements of Aryan culture like Brahminical orthodoxy and Sanskrit. This theory, called the Aryan Invasion Theory, is considered obsolete today by many scholars who consider it as a hypothetical construct promoted vigorously by the British, who are fair skinned, to justify their continued rule in India.

Dravidian Nationalists trace the origin of all social evil in Tamil society today to the Aryan invasion event that occurred 5,000 years ago and much of their rhetoric contains hateful references to today's north Indians, who are supposedly the descendants of the Aryan invaders. Some believe such an attitude prevents Tamil society from looking inwards sometimes to recognize those sources of social evils that have an origin closer at home.

Beliefs about an ancient Kumari Kandam, which was the fountainhead of the Tamil people, culture and language, which sank in the Indian Ocean 10,000 years ago, remain completely unsubstantiated either by scientific geological and oceanographic data of the Indian Ocean or the current physiography of the Indian Ocean.

Others also believe that the entire Dravidian Nationalist movement is nothing but an attempt by political leaders to win votes by whipping up linguistic, regional and ethnic passions. It is noteworthy that Tamil Nadu, in spite of being ruled by Dravidian nationalist political parties, for quite a long time, still faces the same social evils that Dravidian nationalism claims to fight.

Tamil nationalism is also criticized for the vigorous support it lends to dreaded terrorist groups like the LTTE, which use inhuman methods in warfare, like using child soldiers, suicide bombers and killing civilians, breaking many international laws. Tamil nationalists consider such LTTE terrorists as freedom fighters and martyrs, not terrorists, something that distances many individuals who may have earlier been sympathetic to the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Steever 1987, p. 355
  2. ^ Abraham 2003, pp. 211, 217
  3. ^ a b Subrahmanian 1981, pp. 23–24
  4. ^ Parthasarathy 1993, pp. 1–2
  5. ^ Parthasarathy 1993, p. 344
  6. ^ Monius 2000, pp. 12–13
  7. ^ Ramaswamy 1993, p. 690-698
  8. ^ Narayanan 1994, p. 26
  9. ^ Peterson 1982, p. 77
  10. ^ Cutler 1991, p. 770.
  11. ^ Clooney 1992, pp. 205–206
  12. ^ Pandian 1994, p. 87; Kailasapathy 1979, p. 32
  13. ^ Moorti 2004, p. 549
  14. ^ Kohli 2004, pp. 285–299
  15. ^ Palanithurai 1989
  16. ^ http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/India_asks_Lanka_to_protect_civilians/articleshow/3610295.cms
  17. ^ http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=27213

References

  • Abraham, Shinu (2003), "Chera, Chola, Pandya: Using archaeological evidence to identify the Tamil kingdoms of early historic South India", Asian Perspectives, 42 (2): 207, doi:10.1353/asi.2003.0031 {{citation}}: More than one of |pages= and |pp= specified (help); More than one of |pp= and |pages= specified (help)
  • Clooney, Francis X. (1992), "Extending the Canon: Some Implications of a Hindu Argument about Scripture", The Harvard Theological Review, 85 (2): 197–215
  • Cutler, Norman (1991), "Tamil Bhakti in Translation", Journal of the American Oriental Society, 111 (4): pp. 768–775, doi:10.2307/603406 {{citation}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  • Kailasapathy, K. (1979), "The Tamil Purist Movement: A re-evaluation", Social Scientist, 7 (10): 23, doi:10.2307/3516775 {{citation}}: More than one of |pages= and |pp= specified (help); More than one of |pp= and |pages= specified (help)
  • Kohli, A. (2004), "Federalism and the Accommodation of Ethnic Nationalism", in Amoretti, Ugo M.; Bermeo, Nancy (eds.), Federalism and Territorial Cleavages, Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, pp. 281–299, ISBN 0801874084, retrieved 2008-04-25
  • Moorti, S. (2004), "Fashioning a Cosmopolitan Tamil Identity: Game Shows, Commodities and Cultural Identity", Media, Culture & Society, 26 (4): 549–567, doi:10.1177/0163443704044217
  • Narayanan, Vasudha (1994), The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation, and Ritual, Studies in Comparative Religion, University of South Carolina Press, ISBN 0872499650
  • Palanithurai, G. (1989), Changing Contours of Ethnic Movement: A Case Study of the Dravidian Movement, Annamalai University Dept. of Political Science Monograph series, No. 2, Annamalainagar: Annamalai University
  • Pandian, M.S.S. (1994), "Notes on the transformation of 'Dravidian' ideology: Tamilnadu, c. 1900-1940", Social Scientist, 22 (5/6): 84, doi:10.2307/3517904 {{citation}}: More than one of |pages= and |pp= specified (help); More than one of |pp= and |pages= specified (help)
  • Parthasarathy, R. (1993), The Cilappatikaram of Ilanko Atikal: An Epic of South India, New York: Columbia University Press, ISBN 023107848X
  • Peterson, Indira V. (1982), "Singing of a Place: Pilgrimage as Metaphor and Motif in the Tēvāram Songs of the Tamil Śaivite Saints", Journal of the American Oriental Society, 102 (1): pp. 69–90, doi:10.2307/601112 {{citation}}: |pages= has extra text (help).
  • Steever, Sanford (1987), "Review of Hellmar-Rajanayagam, Tamil als politisches Symbol", Journal of the American Oriental Society, 107 (2): 355–356
  • Subrahmanian, N. (1981), An introduction to Tamil literature, Madras: Christian Literature Society
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