VARANASI: Continuing its efforts to counter the long-standing charge that the BJP promotes Hindi cultural dominance, the BJP-led union government has initiated numerous efforts to teach Tamil through multiple languages of the country, particularly through Hindi.
It is evident from the theme of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam’s fourth edition (KTS 4.0) — going on from December 2 to 17 — ‘Tamil Karkalam’ (Let us learn Tamil), the event is aimed at teaching Tamil to Hindi-speaking students.
The roads of Varanasi are filled with flex banners showing the picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the words ‘Tamil Karkalam’ along with its Hindi transliteration.
Under this programme, 300 college students from Uttar Pradesh will visit Tamil Nadu in 10 batches to learn Tamil.
They will attend an orientation at the Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT) Chennai, followed by Tamil language classes and cultural sessions conducted at leading institutions across the state, including IIT Madras; Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan; Shastra University, Thanjavur; Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore and Ganapathi Tulsi’s Jain Engineering College, Vellore.
The programme ensures that young learners from North India gain direct exposure to Tamil language, heritage and contemporary cultural practices.
In Varanasi, 50 Hindi-speaking teachers from Chennai trained by the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prasar Sabha, using the textbooks prepared by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT), are teaching Tamil to Hindi-speaking students in 50 schools in Varanasi.
In total, 1,500 students will learn introductory Tamil through this initiative. The classes last for a period of 15 days.
In just one week, the students of PM Shri Government Queen’s College were able to learn how to address and greet people in Tamil. Some of them explained how they loved learning Tamil.
At Namo Ghat in Varanasi, where KTS 4.0 events are going on, CICT director Dr R Chandrasekaran said that within a month or two, the institute will launch a free online course for learning Tamil through Hindi.
The CICT has published a series of books for learning Tamil through Hindi, including a handbook for practising Tamil grammar, a handbook for writing Tamil letters, a glossary of Tamil equivalents for Hindi words used in day-to-day life and a book of simple conversations in Tamil.
