Speaker Appavu backs actor Kamal Haasan in ‘Kannada came form Tamil' row
Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M. Appavu has backed actor Kamal Haasan, who had asserted recently that 'Kannada came from Tamil'.
Speaking to reporters here on Thursday after participating in a function, Mr. Appavu said the people of then Madras Presidency, which comprised Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra, Karnataka and a part of Orissa spoke Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Tulu and Oriya and it was propagated then that Tamil and all other south Indian languages were born from Sanskrit.
However, this longstanding myth was smashed by Bishop Caldwell of Northern Ireland, who learnt all the south Indian languages and even Sanskrit and researched about these languages for 18 years.
In his book 'A comparative grammar of Dravidian or South Indian Family of Languages' in 1856, Bishop Caldwell, who obtained a degree in a university in Ireland, had declared that Tamil was one among the first three languages of the world.
'In his book, Bishop Caldwell, after 18-year-long research and learning 18 languages, has written that Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tulu, Oriya etc. were born from Tamil. Hence, ancient Tamil obtained classical status thanks to the efforts taken by late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. And, a statue was erected for Bishop Caldwell in Chennai and a memorial has been created for the late scholar. So, what Kamal Haasan said in this connection is right,' Mr. Appavu said.
The Speaker said the accused in the Anna University sexual assault case had been convicted within the shortest possible time only due to the sincere efforts taken by the Tamil Nadu Government to expedite the trial of the case.
'Justice has been done to the victims of infamous Pollachi sexual assault case only after the present Government expedited the trial of the case. Now, the the accused in the Anna University sexual assault case has been found guilty. Everyone expects that the accused would get maximum punishment for this heinous crime. This has instilled confidence in the minds of the women, girls and the minors that they would get justice under the present government,' Mr. Appavu said.
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