Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi   

“Aryanisation is a misnomer, misleading concept”

— Photo: R.M. Rajarathinam

Iravatham Mahadevan, Epigraphist (right), congratulating T.R. Ramachandran, who took over as president of Tamil Nadu History Congress in Tiruchi on Friday. Former chairman of Indian Council of Historical Research M.G.S. Narayanan is in the picture.

TIRUCHI: Terms such as ‘Aryanisation’ and ‘Sanskritisation’ have to be avoided in the discussion of Tamil history as they cannot do justice to the Tamil spirit of independence, observed M.G.S. Narayanan, former chairman, Indian Council of Historical Research.

Tamils were never Aryanised completely and never lost their identity in language and culture. Tamils are the only people in India, other than the tribal Adivasis, to have retained their original language and national personality in spite of Aryan influence, he said, inaugurating the 16th annual session of the Tamil Nadu History Congress at the National College here on Friday. “Aryan groups from the north had not gained ascendancy, the Aryan ‘chaturvarnya’ [four-caste system] system had not taken roots in Tamil society and Aryan institutions such as the Brahmanical temple had not developed as a central institution in Tamil villages during the Sangam Age. All these happened, to a large extent, in parts of Tamizhagam by the 7th century when the Aryanised Pallavas acquired hegemony over the Tamil land. There was an Aryan domination in polity and society, but not Aryanisation which signifies complete replacement of Tamil culture with Aryan culture. We have to distinguish between Aryan domination and Aryanisation.”

“We have to accept the historical fact of Aryan Brahmin domination in Tamil society for many centuries. Sill, the Tamil culture was not completely suppressed or wiped out,” he said. In this context, Aryanisation is a misnomer and the coinage of the term to denote the dawn of history in south India is misleading, he said.

S. Muthukumaran, former Member-Secretary, Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education, said history should not be viewed as a separate discipline of its own and emphasised the need for using the knowledge of other scientific disciplines to understand the country’s pre-historic period.

T.R. Ramachandran, former Principal, Pachaiyappa’s College, was installed as the president of the congress on the occasion. Epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan was honoured and conferred with the title ‘Distinguished and Eminent Epigraphist of Tami Nadu Par Excellence.’

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Mettur level
“It should be an all-party team”
“Aryanisation is a misnomer, misleading concept”
Students’ performances personify confidence
Electric locomotive-hauled train services from mid-November
Congress retains Corporation ward
“Find creative solutions to save Earth”
Giant kiln shells despatched
Need to improve Joint Liability Group scheme
Palliative care rally, exhibition today
Priority for development of business enterprises
Contact programme
Two detained
In Tiruchi Today

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu