The President, Dr. Zakir Hussain, to-day [January 3, Madras] paid a glowing tribute to the Tamil literature and described it as “rich, original and mature” indicating centuries of development. Inaugurating the Second International Conference-Seminar of Tamil Studies, the President praised the great Tamil tradition and said it was not only old, but was “catholic and universalist in spirit.” “Tamil holds an honoured place among our languages; it has forged vital links between the North and the South; and it is an international language, because it is spoken in lands outside our own and is the repository of a creative and pervasive culture of South-East Asia”, he told a mammoth gathering assembled on the sands of the Marina where the inauguration of the conference was held. The Madras Chief Minister, Mr. C.N. Annadurai, presided. The State Governor, Sardar Ujjal Singh, who released the conference souvenir on the occasion, said the Tamil language, which had survived many thousands of years, had a glorious future because of its inherent strength and advantage for further progress. Dr. Zakir Hussain said Tamil Nad[u] had traditional boundaries and it had also a vigorous tradition of ignoring geographical and cultural boundaries. Tamilians traded with Arabia, Egypt and Rome — the names of the powerful merchant guilds on record indicated their international character. In the early hymns of the Alwars, there was a description of the Pallava port of Mamallapuram where ships had anchored laden with precious merchandise. Fragments of a eleventh century Tamil inscription found in Sumatra indicated the existence of a flourishing trade between Tamil Nad[u] and the countries of South-East Asia. The navy of the Tamil kings dominated the Indian Ocean, and Rajendra Chola whose naval exploits were famous, had diplomatic and commercial relations with the Emperor of China, Several hundred years earlier, in connection with trade interests in the Western world, a Pandyan ruler had sent an emissary to the Roman Emperor, Augustus. The great tradition of the Tamil language and culture began with the Sangam literature, over 2,000 years ago, which might be called the word’s oldest literary academy. Then they had the Kural, a treasure house of sacred and worldly wisdom. The Kamba Ramayana was a great classic, a variation of the theme of Valmiki, an epic that could rank as one of the most remarkable literary products of the world, Dr. Hussain said. The modern period had also been equally fertile and had an impressive list of poets and novelists, including Subramanya Bharati, the poet of our national struggle, “a visionary with a prophetic quality who heralded the new age of freedom.”
