New Delhi: On the occasion of Tamil New Year, a Tamil New Year celebration was held at Union Minister Murugan’s Delhi residence. Prime Minister Modi, Governors Tamilisai and CP Radhakrishnan, Tamil Nadu BJP MLA Nayanar Nagarendran, H. Raja and other important dignitaries were present.
Prime Minister Modi, who attended the event wearing a silk robe and a silk shirt, started his speech by greeting Tamils on the occasion of the Tamil New Year. “India is not only the world’s oldest democracy but also the mother of democracy. It has many historical references. An important note is in Tamil Nadu. 1,100-1,200-year-old inscriptions found at Uttaramerur in Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu reveal aspects of the country’s democratic values.
The inscription found there is like a local constitution for the village council. It states how the assembly should be conducted and how the members should be selected. Besides, during that period, how a member will be disqualified,” he said, referring to the recent disqualification of senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha, who was sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court in a defamation case.
He continued, “As a country, it is our responsibility to carry forward this culture and tradition, but we all know what happened before. However, now I have been given this responsibility,” he said.
And every Indian should be proud of the fact that Tamil is the oldest language of the world. From Chennai to California, from Madurai to Melbourne, from Coimbatore to Cape Town, from Salem to Singapore, Tamils can be found anywhere in the world. Wherever they go, Tamils carry their culture and traditions. That’s why Tamil festivals like Pongal and New Year are celebrated all over the world.
Many times I have talked about the Tamils who achieved many feats in Mann Ki Baat. UN I mentioned about Tamil language in the assembly. Tamil literature is also highly respected. Tamil film industry has given us many works on the character of Tamil.
I am the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Jaffna in Sri Lanka. Tamils in Sri Lanka were waiting for help and our government did a lot for them. When I went to Jaffna, I was handed over houses built by the Indian government for the Tamils there. A traditional ritual of boiling milk before entering the house, which I also participated in. I got a lot of love from Tamil people when its videos were released in Tamil Nadu.
The “Kashi-Tamil Sangam” held in my parliamentary constituency, Varanasi, was successfully conducted. Kasi and Tamil Nadu have ancient historical connections. Talk to any boatman in Kashi town and he knows many Tamil phrases. “I am happy that thousands of rupees worth of Tamil books have been purchased at the Kashi Tamil Sangam and Bharatiyar seat has been established at the Banaras Hindu University,” PM Modi also spoke movingly about Tamil Nadu and Tamils.
