Aligarh: The two-day online international conference on “Tolkappiyam and its Relevance with Classical Tamil and History”, was jointly organized by the Aligarh Muslim University and the School of Languages and Language Education, Central Institute of Classical Tamil, Chennai.

In his presidential address, Prof. Mohammad Gulrez, Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, shared his insights and discussed his interaction with the Tamil scholars during his stay in Sri Lanka. He highlighted the importance of promoting comparative studies between Tamil and other languages to gain a deeper understanding of the linguistic and cultural diversity of our country.

In his keynote address, Prof. A. Shanmugadas, an Emeritus Professor in Tamil at the Jaffna University of Sri Lanka, highlighted the importance of Tolkappiyam as a text that goes beyond grammar and reflects the culture, civilization, and history of ancient society and literary composition. He also shared his insights on the emotions in animals mentioned in Tolkappiyam and spoke on Tamil-Japanese relations and their historical and cultural connections.

Prof Chandrasekaran, Director, the Central Institute of Classical Tamil, emphasized the significance of Tolkāppiyar, a renowned Tamil grammarian of Tolkāppiyam, a text that goes beyond grammar and reflects the culture, civilization, and history of ancient society and literary composition. He said the conference will help in promoting comparative studies between Tamil and other languages and initiating research projects that explore the various aspects of Tolkāppiyam.

Referring to AK Ramanujan, an eminent Indian linguist, who considers Tolkāppiyam as "linguistics' ultimate guru" for his comprehensive work on various forms of language, from the most basic to the most poetic, he said that the Central Institute of Classical Tamil has taken an exceptional initiative to translate Tolkāppiyam, the "universal grammar" of Tamil, into multiple languages including 10 Indian languages and fifteen foreign languages.

He stated that the CICT is an esteemed institution dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of the classical Tamil language and its rich literary and cultural heritage and it has undertaken multifarious activities that have contributed significantly to the development and preservation of the Tamil language and culture.

"CICT’s publications have made a significant contribution to the study and understanding of Tamil literature and have helped to preserve and promote the Tamil language. Another important activity of CICT is the organization of seminars, conferences, and workshops on various aspects of the Tamil language and culture, " he added.

He presented a copy of the Hindi translation of Tolkappiyam to Prof Nishat Fatima, University Librarian at Maulana Azad Library and Chairman, the Department of Library Science and Information.

During the conference, several scholars from different parts of the world presented their papers. Some of the notable professors who attended the conference included Dr. Ulrike Niklas from the University of Cologne in Germany, Dr. Selvajothi Ramalingam from the University of Malaya, and Anuzsiya Senathirajah, Head, the Department of Social Sciences at the Faculty of Arts & Culture, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka.

Earlier, welcoming the guests and speakers, Prof. S. Chandnibi, Department of History, AMU, Organizing Secretary, introduced the theme of the conference.