PM Modi said that there is much in Tamil culture that has shaped India as a nation. (file)
New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that India is the oldest democracy in the world, which has many historical references to democratic principles. A 1,100-year-old inscription from Tamil Nadu talks about rules for the local body, including a provision for disqualification of a member. Speaking at the Tamil New Year celebrations at Union Minister L Murugan’s residence here, Modi said Tamil is the world’s oldest language and every Indian is proud of it.
Dressed in traditional Tamil attire, PM Modi said Tamil literature is also widely respected and the Tamil film industry has produced some of the most iconic works.
Narendra Modi said, “India is the oldest democracy in the world, it is the mother of democracy. It has many historical references. One important reference is Tamil Nadu.”
He said that there is an inscription at Uthiramerur in Tamil Nadu which is 1100-1200 years old which gives a glimpse of the country’s democratic values.
“The inscription found there is like a local constitution for the village assembly. It describes how the assembly should be run, what should be the qualification of the members, what should be the procedure for electing the members. Not only this In that era, they had decided how a member would be disqualified,” the prime minister said.
A major political standoff between the BJP and the opposition parties remains in the wake of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha following his conviction and sentencing in a 2019 defamation case.
In his remarks, PM Modi said, ‘As a country, it is our responsibility to take forward this culture and tradition, but we all know what happened earlier. Now I have been given this responsibility. He also talked about how he spoke in Tamil at the United Nations and other efforts to promote Tamil culture, including in Sri Lanka.
He also asked people to take a New Year’s resolution to include millets in their diet.
The event also saw performances by Tamil artistes and was attended by many people from Tamil Nadu.
In his remarks, PM Modi said that there is much in Tamil culture that has shaped India as a nation.
Modi said, “Tamil culture and people are timeless as well as global. From Chennai to California, from Madurai to Melbourne, from Coimbatore to Cape Town, from Salem to Singapore, you will find Tamil people who carry their culture and traditions with them.” Let’s take it along.” Said.
He said that the ancient Tamil culture and tradition of taking new energy from ‘Puthandu (New Year)’ is really wonderful.
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