The informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mamallapuram has thrust Tamil Nadu and its ancient heritage into the limelight. In an interview, Minister for Tamil Official Language, Culture and Archaeology K. Pandiarajan says it has also wiped out the anti-Modi narrative in the State. He explains what the event means to Tamil Nadu and presents his arguments on a host of issues, including the archaeological excavations in Keeladi. Excerpts:
Tamil Nadu played host to the second informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. What does this mean to the State?
It is a big boost to us, in my view. It is great that the Centre has involved the State government in foreign affairs. I remember the BJP’s election manifesto, which spoke of involving State governments in foreign affairs. It is notable in that we are seeing this especially at a time when there is criticism that the Centre is centralising everything. The Centre has also allowed T.N. to sign an MoU with Fujian province in China.
As a Minister for Tamil culture and language, in what way do you think it will highlight the greatness of the language and its culture?
We are very proud of our cultural richness and architecture in Mamallapuram, and the informal summit has put the focus back on our rich heritage. During and after the summit, I heard many people saying they weren’t aware of the grandeur of these monuments until the event was held. The summit has seen a huge sum of money being spent on beautifying the town and highlighting our heritage.
There is a view that the BJP could use this to strengthen its base in Tamil Nadu...
Some people had been pushing an anti-Modi narrative in Tamil Nadu, and [DMK leader] Mr. Stalin had been claiming that we were a ‘slave’ to the BJP government [at the Centre]. But the Mamallapuram summit has proved him and others wrong. The anti-Modi narrative has been wiped out now.
But hashtags hostile to Mr. Modi were trending on Twitter at the time of the summit...
It had been established through media reports during and even before the [Lok Sabha] election that a majority of such tweets originated from Pakistan. That is why the Opposition has not been talking about it.
You strongly defended the inclusion of the Bhagavad Gita in the Anna University syllabus. Do you think it is appropriate for a State-run university to teach elements of one faith, that too in a technical university?
I don’t know why people are trying to look at this differently. Among the electives included were Western and Eastern philosophies, including [those of] Aristotle, Tao and Confucius. That being so, what is wrong in including an Indian philosophy? I stand by what I had said. I see it as a philosophy and not as a religion. All the opposition to this is completely political. I have made a recommendation to the Higher Education Minister for the inclusion of Tirukkural too in the syllabus.
The findings in Keeladi have put T.N. archaeology under the spotlight. But there has been criticism from experts like noted epigraphist R. Nagaswamy, who has questioned the carbon dating and disputed the report on the findings..
My humble reply to that is that Mr. Nagaswamy is an expert and a recipient of various awards. But contrary to what he said, what was found in Keeladi was not one karithundu (single sample), but a host of artefacts. And on the issue of carbon dating — he has been retired for over 25 years. Various technologies were involved in our report. Pisa University in Italy and the Physical Laboratory in Pune were involved, and we have corroboration. To question the fundamentals of archaeology may be a case of sour grapes.
During his stay at Mamallapuram, Mr. Modi went plogging along the coast. Critics say it was done for publicity...
If the Prime Minister did it for publicity, as critics claim, he could have done it in five minutes. Why did he do it for half an hour? What Mr. Modi did was a noble gesture; people do throw garbage into the ocean, and he only collected what had washed up. I did not know what plogging meant till he did it. What he did was a great gesture.
The DMK recently urged the PM to declare Tamil an official language, after he spoke in Tamil in national and global fora. What’s your view?
It may be a part of their [DMK’s] manifesto. But what we are focusing on are concrete measures. We have sought ₹50 crore from the Centre to set up Tamil promotional units across the country. Last month, I met an official in Delhi to seek flight announcements in Tamil. Instead of declaring something ‘so and so’, I believe in concrete steps towards promoting our Tamil language.
