Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Sanghom alleges discrimination

Thiruvananthapuram: The State committee of the Purogamana Kala Sahitya Sanghom said here on Sunday that the failure on the part of the Union government to include Malayalam in the list of classical languages from South India reflected the discrimination towards Malayalam.

A press note quoting samithi general secretary V.N. Murali expressed strong protest over the decision to leave out Malayalam from the list. “The fact that the denial of classical status for Malayalam came on November 1, the day Kerala was born, makes it worse. The age of a language is decided by the history of the population using it. By any standards, Malayalam has a history of over 1,000 years,” he said.

The press note said the culture and heritage of Malayalam made it as eligible for classical status as Kannada, Telugu and Tamil, the other South Indian languages that had made it to the list. “Art forms such as Koothu and Koodiyattam have survived for thousands of years through Malayalam. Malayalis and their language have made substantial contribution to Sanskrit and Indian literature in general. The literary works of Bhasa and Abhinava Guptan have been recovered from Kerala.”

The press note said the demand to accord classical status for Malayalam was democratic and transcended religious considerations. “Malayalis who have always shown respect for other languages are justified in claiming equal status for their mother tongue. It is regrettable that Malayalam has not got its due despite the fact that Malayalis adorn key positions in the Central government. Does this discrimination mean that they lack sincerity towards their State and their language,” the press note wondered.

The samithi urged the Union government to correct its decision and take steps to accord classical status for Malayalam. It said Malayalis the world over would join hands to press the demand.

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