CHENNAI: Despite the state’s political establishment frequently invoking Tamil pride, the Assembly witnessed no substantive debate on Tamil development when the demand for grants for the department was taken up on August 24.
Out of the 13 legislators who took part in the discussion during the session, which covered the demands for grants for six departments, including the Tamil Development department, only PMK MLA C Sivakumar raised issues related to language development and the importance of Tamil being the medium of instruction in educational institutions.
Former minister K P Anbazhagan requested the Speaker to take his written statement on Tamil development on record, while the remaining legislators focused on civic portfolios such as municipal administration.
School Education and Tamil Development Minister A Rajmohan made a list of announcements in connection with the department in response to a debate that did not materialise.
Several legislators attributed the lapse to the bundling of discussions on several departments into a single day’s agenda. Although Speaker J C D Prabhakar did not rush the proceedings, members were compelled to prioritise the debates on departments that involve immediate public impact.
Tamil development is indeed a cross-departmental responsibility encompassing language, education, technology, culture, archaeology, administration, libraries, and tourism, with digital platforms now assuming significance in taking the language to the global diaspora.
Former TNCC president and ex-MLA S Thirunavukkarasar, who heads Muthamizh Kalanjiyam, an organisation that frequently conducts Tamil literary events, told TNIE that the debate on Tamil development should not be bundled with other departments or at least with closely related subjects.
Another former Congress member, K Jayakumar, recalled an incident from the 2006-11 term, when then chief minister M Karunanidhi accepted his demand that the discussion related to Adi Dravidar Welfare Department, which concerned the welfare of nearly 20% of the state’s population, should not be bundled with other departments. From then on, the demand for grants for the department has been taken up separately in the Assembly, he added.