UNESCO URGED TO DECLARE 1965 TAMIL LANGUAGE STRUGGLE AS WORLD MOTHER LANGUAGES DAY

Madam Irina Bokava

Director General UNESCO

7, Place de Fontenoy 75352

Paris 07 SP France

Respected Secretary General

You are the custodian of the culture of humanity, and a neutral judge to uphold the common heritage of humanity. Though by depicting all worlds’s languages as tree, scholars have said all languages have emanated from common source, the quest to find that common source is yet to deliver result. Scientists have found FOX P2, a common gene that triggered human speech, but each and every language speaker has pride and reverence for his or her mother tongue. Scientists have proven that race is a myth and all men have common gene. Yet mankind lives in various countries speaking numerous mother tongues. UNESCO is for preserving all mother tongues and protects endangered languages. Such an institution should update history, is our request.

Alexander Graham Bell is not first to invent telephone, but an Italian Antonio Mussie , the American Senate debated to update history when new truth emerged. Dravida Peravai, a tiny political party of Tamils in India, urges UNESCO to update the history regarding the celebrations of world mother languages day. It is needless to state that the police firing and death of 5 persons in the struggle of students of then East Pakistan when Urdu was imposed as sole official language of Pakistan in 1950-52, is taken into consideration to fix February 21st as World Mother Languages day. We also salute those martyrs, and the love of their mother tongue culminated in the birth of a liberated new nation, Bangladesh.

Tamils consider their mother tongue as Primary Classical Language of the World, as Devaneya Paavanar, had written in his treatise. When Hindi alone was imposed sole official language of India in 1965, the students and people of Tamilnadu fought a long drawn battle where men committed self immolation to stall that move. Nowhere on Earth, for their mother tongue, people had burnt themselves, and comparing to killing in police firing, which too took lives in Tamilnadu too, the supreme sacrifice of those martyrs must be honored by humanity. We are enclosing news paper clippings of the Tamil Language Struggle of 1965, and producing Xerox copies of few pages from the book Struggle for Freedom of Languages in India written by Former Vice Chancellor of Alagappa University in Tamilnadu Dr.A.Ramasamy, to bring to the notice of UNESCO that far greater sacrifices were made by Tamils, and if any other linguistic group had done more sacrifice in the struggle to save their mother tongue, Tamils will accept truth and withdraw their claim to be the topmost in sacrifice for mother tongue.

In view of the fresh facts brought to the notice of UNESCO, we Tamils, Indian Tamils appeal to UNESCO to shift the date of World Mother Languages Day to January 25 th, the date of Tamil struggle. I hope our Bengali brethren who till day had that honor will take it sportive and be happy that they were holding the championship shield from 1999 to 2010. All countries and representatives of UNESCO must impartially accept the historical update provided by us after cross checking on their own or seeking further references from us or Government of Tamilnadu, a State under Indian Union.

We pray that due place of honor is given to Tamil martyrs who self immolated themselves, the photographs of six such people in a cut out put by our party in 2008 in remembrance of their sacrifices is enclosed. Also the photograph of painting of three Tamil martyrs Chinnasamy, Sivalingam and Aranganathan prepared by lady painter Sathya and presented to me is enclosed.

Let me quote from TIME dated 19th February 1965 “In Tamil speaking Madras State where five people have burnt themselves to death in protest; a mob captured two policemen and burned them alive. In Malayalam speaking Kerala State mobs attacked post offices and trains, and students signed pledges of resistance to the imposition of Hindi using their own blood as ink….. the death toll in the riots rose to 60.”

Also a chapter Fire Spreads in the book mentioned earlier and released by Kalaignar M.Karunanithi DMK President, current Chief Minister of Tamilnadu few months before he became 5th time Chief Minister of Tamilnadu is enclosed to show that even in Bengal, where Bengali is spoken, and the protest against Hindi triggered opposition.

Dravida Peravai appeals to UNESCO, that while there is wide spread heart bleeding over the failure of UN to save Eelam Tamils from genocide, at least by the symbolic gesture of declaring the Tamil Struggle day of Indian Tamils, as the day of World Mother Languages day, a healing process can begin, by correcting a historical mistake of ignoring Tamil sacrifices.

With Regards Yours Fraternally

N.Nandhivarman  General Secretary Dravida Peravai

18.08.2010 My 64th birthday.