The Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT) will take up comparative studies of Tamil with other classical languages such as Greek and Latin, said R. Chandrasekaran, who has been appointed the first permanent director of the institute.
An assistant professor of Tamil at Government Arts and Science College at Mullipuram, Kangeyam, Mr. Chandrasekaran said, “This (the Director post) is an important task to demonstrate the richness and depth of the Tamil language on the world stage.”
Other proposed projects for CICT include deciphering ancient Tamil inscriptions, promoting Tamil studies in countries with substantial Tamil population and creating Tamil chairs in leading universities across the world, Mr. Chandrasekaran told The Hindu over phone from his residence in Erode.
He hoped to carry out these projects with the support of the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) and the State government. In an effort to kindle interest in Tamil among school and college students, conferences and other activities would be held by CICT in educational institutions in the State, he said.
Prior to Mullipuram Government Arts and Science College, 47-year-old Mr. Chandrasekaran has worked in government colleges in Namakkal and Udhagamandalam. His expertise and research interests are sangam and medieval literature, Indology and devotional literature and tribal studies. He received the Young Scholar Award in 2013 from the then President of India Pranab Mukherjee.
Mr. Chandrasekaran said, “I have been at home translating many books and teaching online courses to students in European countries during the lockdown period. The announcement was a sweet surprise.” With the State government initiating the transfer process following the announcement, he expects to move to Chennai in about a week’s time. “I will miss teaching. I am used to being around students at all times,” he said.
Task in hands
Completion of the construction of the permanent building for the CICT and resolving the issue of appointment of permanent employees are immediate concerns that the Institute’s first permanent director will have to deal with, Tamil Development Minister ‘Ma Foi’ K. Pandiarajan said.
Mr. Pandiarajan said that the appointment was much delayed and it was of concern to the State government.
“It was more a procedural delay. We will work with him closely,” he said.
The Minister said the construction of the building at Kancheepuram is nearing completion, but another ₹6.5 crore has to be disbursed. “They have been delaying this saying that a permanent director has to be appointed. Now that he has been appointed, we want this work to be completed quickly,” Mr. Pandiarajan added.
He also said another key issue was the appointment of permanent staff to the Institute.
Mr. Pandiarajan said the employees who had been working on a contractual basis for the past 10 years have approached the courts seeking that they be made permanent. “Now that they have worked for 10 years, they want to be made permanent. That is also an issue to be resolved by the director,” he said.
Apart from these, the Institute’s awards for Tamil scholars have been pending for a few years now. “We have to quickly decide these and award them. The Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi Classical Tamil Award also has to be given,” he said.