'They Are Cousins, Tamil Is Not Kannada's Mother': Kannadigas Hit Back At Kamal Haasan

News18

7 days ago

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Kannada linguists and scholars have come forward with documents to prove that all Dravidian languages came from a Proto-Dravidian language more than 2,000 years ago
Renowned actor and politician Kamal Haasan seems to have unwittingly waded into a controversy over the origin of Kannada language. At a promotion of his new movie 'Thug Life", Haasan said that Kannada came from Tamil implying that Tamil is the mother language of Kannada. He made this highly controversial statement in the presence of Kannada actor Shivarajkumar, son of thespian, the late Rajkumar.
Haasan's statement has led to a public outcry against him in Karnataka. Including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, all political leaders of the state cutting across parties, have strongly condemned his remarks, demanding an apology. Haasan has refused to apologise saying he made this comment out of love. The Karnataka Film Industry is now under pressure to extract an apology from Haasan.
People are also questioning the silence of Shivarajkumar, who kept quiet and did not counter Haasan on the stage. They argue that Kannada is an independent Dravidian language like Tamil and other languages.
Kannada linguists and scholars have come forward with documents to prove that all Dravidian languages, including some languages spoken by the minuscule number of people (in hundreds) came from a Proto-Dravidian language more than 2,000 years ago. They claim that this language was spoken by the Harappa and Mohenjodaro civilisation which predates the arrival of Aryans from Central Asia.
Professor Ham Pa Nagarajaiah, a renowned Kannada scholar and linguist has termed Haasan's statement as stupid, which is completely false.
He said that all Dravidian languages including two of the oldest Tamil and Kannada came from a Proto-Dravidian language which no longer exists. He added that Kannada and Tamil are cousin languages which belong to the same family and no language is the mother of another language.
Describing his remarks as insulting and inflammatory, Bilimale said that Kannada, Tamil, Tulu, Telugu, Malayalam and another hundred plus languages came from a Proto-Dravidian language. Speaking to News18, he said 'that proto-Dravidian language no longer exists. The linguists have reconstructed it and proved that it is the mother of all Dravidian languages. There is a language called Kuyi, spoken in Orissa which is older than Tamil and it is also a Dravidian language."
He cautioned that claiming that one language is the mother of another language is a dangerous thing and it is born out of superiority complex.
He has also criticised the people who claim that Sanskrit is the mother language of all Indian languages. He said that Sanskrit is an Indo-Aryan language and over centuries a lot of Sanskrit words have entered the Dravidian languages. But that does not make Sanskrit mother of any Dravidian language.
It is an established fact that Kannada, Tamil, Tulu, Telugu, Malayalam, Kodava, Havyaka, Badaga, Thoda and many other languages are proto-Dravidian languages. They are cousins, belong to the same language family. No language is a mother of another language. They are independent, yet linked to each others. Sometimes closely.
What Kamal Haasan has said is nothing new. Over 55 years ago, Rajaji had said (actually wrote) something similar about Kannada and Tamil. Rajaji wrote that Kannada came from Tamil and the Kannada script came from Telugu!
There were protests against his statement in Karnataka, initially he refused to apologise. A few months later, he apologised and the issue was resolved.
And, Rajaji was an eminent scholar. No one had expected a man of his scholarship and stature to say something so stupid and completely false. Rajaji gave no evidence to support his claim.
Another renowned historian and linguist, the late Professor S Shettar, has concluded that Kannada may be 200 years older than Tamil. He has pointed out that many Kannada words are found in Sangham literature of Tamil.
He has also written about the close trade ties between Kannada rulers and the Greek. A book full of Kannada words was found at Alexandria library, over 2,000 years ago.
Kannada organisations, which are protesting against Haasan have even lodged a police complaint alleging he is creating a language tension between two neighbouring states.
The BJP which claims Sanskrit is the mother language of all Indian languages has gone after Haasan demanding his apology. The BJP's response has come under criticism for its double standards.
Will Kamal Haasan also apologise for his 'tone deaf" comments like Rajaji or let it go? The future of his movies might force him to rethink.
tags :
Dravidian kamal haasan kannada karnataka Siddaramaiah tamil
Location :
Bengaluru, India, India
First Published:
May 29, 2025, 11:40 IST
News india 'They Are Cousins, Tamil Is Not Kannada's Mother': Kannadigas Hit Back At Kamal Haasan