Keralites living in different parts of the globe got their best birthday gift ever on Kerala Formation Day on Thursday with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy inaugurating Thunchathu Ezhuthachan Malayalam University.
Described by politicians, academics and literary luminaries, who witnessed the inaugural, as a “dream-like gift for the Malayali on the 56th birthday of Kerala,” the university will not only promote Malayalam but also encapsulate the quintessence of Malayalam culture and its legacy.
Mr. Chandy lit a lamp and unveiled a plaque announcing that Malayalam as a language, with five Jnanpith laureates to its credit, deserved much more than it was getting.
“Our next aim is to gain the Malayalam language the classical status,” the Chief Minister said to the applause of a large gathering at Thunchanparambu, courtyard of the home of Thunchathu Ezhuthachan, the patriarch of Malayalam language.
Love for language
“We (Malayalis) are not fanatics but we are aficionados (of Malayalam). We love our language,” Mr. Chandy said. Describing Malayalam as a global language, the Chief Minister said it was not confined to Kerala alone. “This is a moment of glory for the Malayali diaspora around the world,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that generations born and brought up outside Kerala should also speak Malayalam. The Malayalam Mission, he said, would do everything possible for that. He congratulated Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb, who presided over the function, and Vice-Chancellor K. Jayakumar, who was special officer for the university, for their efforts to materialise the university.
Honoured
He also honoured the winners of the Ezhuthachan Award, the biggest recognition by the government for language and literature. He draped award-winners M.T. Vasudevan Nair and T. Padmanabhan with shawls.
Minister for Finance K.M. Mani, Minister for Power and Transport Aryadan Mohammed, Minister for Tourism A.P. Anil Kumar, E.T. Mohammed Basheer, MP; Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, Deputy Leader of the Opposition; MLAs Abdurahman Randathani, M.P. Abdussamad Samadani, P.Sreeramakrishnan, P. Ubaidulla, T.A. Ahamed Kabeer, M. Ummer, N. Shamsuddin and Mohammedunni Haji; district panchayat president Suhara Mampad; writers C. Radhakrishnan and M.M. Basheer, Collector M.C. Mohandas, historian M.G.S. Narayanan, Calicut University Vice-Chancellor M. Abdul Salam, and Tirur Municipal Chairperson K. Safiya were among those who spoke.
