TIRUNELVELI: Noting that the oldest Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions found in Theni and Madurai districts dated back to 500 BCE, while the oldest Sanskrit inscription found in Rajasthan dated back to just 300 CE, Madurai MP and writer Su Venkatesan said the Tamil language is way older than Sanskrit.
Addressing those gathered for the Porunai Nellai Book Festival-2023 here on Saturday, Venkatesan said some MPs had falsely claimed in the parliament that Sanskrit was India's oldest language. "MPs from our state are giving befitting replies to such claims in the parliament itself.
Even so, the union government continues to allocate more funds for the promotion of Sanskrit. The ancient Tamil society had 40 women writers at a time when women were not allowed to study or write in many other societies. Tamils are a linguistic community and not based on any religion. People of all religions have contributed to the development of the Tamil language," he said.
Citing Keezhadi excavation findings, Venkatesan said that the Tamils have a history that is over 3,000 years old. "Archaeologist K Amarnath Ramakrishna submitted his report on Keezhadi to the union government recently. However, the government in all likelihood will delay the release of the report," he said. Earlier, state assembly speaker M Appavu inaugurated the sixth Porunai Nellai Book Festival in the presence of district Collector K P Karthikeyan.