As elections draw closer our politicos get into a frantic race for cornering issues. Inevitably all old wines too get repackaged in the melee. Vintage Tamil is perhaps the oldest wine available and little wonder that the neo-champions of the language, all the usual suspects minus the most prominent one, hit the streets recently with all the might that they could muster. That scores of Tamilians, among others, were also hit severely with their daily chores and even bread and butter for some getting trampled by the hordes that took over the State is of no concern. Indeed, the curses and epithets hurled by the affected citizens could not have been in chaste Tamil for sure but then, they were drowned in the din raised by the lingo terrorists.
Are their claims real or contrived? Apparently, these agitators want the world to believe that their mother tongue is facing extinction and have forthwith appointed themselves as its saviours. And by that, they are only emulating such similar language chauvinism in many other States of the country. Of course, all these stem from their basic belief that such display of love for language would fetch them the votes, and that is their only concern. But really, all their presumptions are not only wrong, but totally out of sync with the times and aspirations of the people.
First to the familiar bluff that Tamil is going, going and would be gone! That really is the ultimate insult to the resilience of the language. Tamil has not only withstood the onslaught of several linguistic invasions, but has, in fact, grown and adapted itself to the changing times and mores. If this is deemed deterioration then what of the dilutions over the centuries, and the dialectical differences from place to place even within Tamilnadu? What Tamil does Ramadoss and his ilk want us all to speak: Thiruvalluvar’s or Kambar’s or Bharati’s? The Kovai one or the Nellai one? Or worse, the Madras basha?
Even the cyber world has completely embraced Tamil, in its bid to maintain relevance and gain inroads in a predominantly non-English speaking TN society. Not just Tamil, all vintage tongues are now the toast of the geek-gen. Again, according to statistics, the number of Tamil books, periodicals and newspapers has only multiplied, leading to a larger Tamil-reading population. So, when Tamil is already everywhere, why crib?
And pray, who gave the mandate to these self-styled guardians? Every Tamil-speaking person and connoisseur of the language is its champion. The language is actually safer in the hands of the common man for whom it is a necessity and therefore of more value unlike to the ‘protectors’ for whom it is just a tool that gains sudden utility during poll-eves. In fact, most of these Tamil-only-campaigners routinely send their wards to convents. Some of the progeny of the anti-Hindi agitationists can put Hindi pundits and northern netas to shame even as many generations down here were denied access to that very ‘Aryan’ tongue. And, if we may ask, in what language did these leaders speak to their alliance partners in the capital in order to secure seats and ministerial berths for their kith and kin? Then why grudge the ordinary man on the street if he were to learn an additional language only to earn a living? Again, will Dr, sorry, Maruthuvar Ramadoss tell us in what language he wrote his prescriptions when he was practising as a doctor? Aah, a bitter pill for the doctor himself, for sure! Indeed, hypocrisy looks to be the true mother -tongue of much of these champions.
And it is foolish of them to imagine that the people would be swayed by their rabid demonstrations. In fact, the citizens are frustrated at being stranded on the streets and that too, in the name of their mother-tongue. They love Tamil, but would like to be linguists too for better mobility in life, not just in the city’s lanes. And they are not going to be humoured by such pranks, let alone casting their ballots for the pranksters.
So instead of erasing English from hoardings and name-boards, these champions should erase such self-inflicted illusions from their minds. Otherwise, an SOS needs to be sent to all Tamil-loving denizens to save Tamil from its ‘saviours’.
e-mail the writer at [email protected]