Tamil pride is set to touch new heights of glory, literally the height of the Statue of Liberty in the United States of America. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has announced that a grand statue for Thamizh Thaai (Mother Tamil), similar to that of the Statue of Liberty, would be installed at Madurai, the seat of Tamil Sangam in ancient Tamil Nadu, at a cost of Rs 100 crore.
“The statue of Thamizh Thaai would reflect the civilisation, culture, literary wealth and architectural skills of Tamils,” the chief minister said while making a statement under Rule No 110 in the state Assembly.
Jayalalithaa also said that a Thamizh Thaai Poonga, a park representing the five ecozones of ancient Tamils—Kurinchi, Mullai, Neithal, Paalai and Marudham and the flora specific to each of these zones as mentioned in the Sangam literature would also be set up around the grand statue.
The Thamizh Thaai statue is likely to be taller than the statue of Saint Thiruvalluvar in Kanyakumari. The state government has already released the design for the Thamizh Thaai statue.
The chief minister also announced that an award would be instituted in the name of Tamil scholar G U Pope, who had translated Tirukkural in English for the first time, besides the Naaladiyar and Thiruvaachakam in the same language. The award would be presented to a scholar who had translated Tamil literature in foreign languages lucidly.
Similarly, a Tamil scholar would be honoured with the Umaru Pulavar award every year.
Those who contribute to the growth of ‘Computer Tamil’ (Kanini Tamil) would be given the Chief Minister’s Computer Tamil award. The above three awards would carry a cash incentive of `1 lakh, a gold medal, a citation and a shawl and would be presented on Tamil New Year Day.