Tamil Nadu Minister for Higher Education K Ponmudy on Sunday, November 13, appealed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to take steps to make Tamil an official language in Union government offices and also allot funds for its development on par with Sanskrit. The appeal comes in the backdrop of the Union Minister requesting the Tamil Nadu government to impart technical education in Tamil earlier on Saturday. "I urge him [Union Home Minister] that Tamil be made a compulsory language in the Union government-run Kendriya Vidyalaya Schools and also fill up posts of Tamil professors in the Jawaharlal Nehru University, which have been vacant for several years," Ponmudy said in a statement.
Responding to Shah's request to impart technical education in Tamil, Ponmudy said that such an initiative was already implemented by the DMK in the state 12 years ago. "Kalaignar (the late Chief Minister) already implemented it in 2010 during the DMK [Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam] regime. Tamil Nadu became the first state in the country to introduce civil and mechanical courses in Tamil at Anna University. It is still in practice even in colleges affiliated to that University," the Minister said.
Measures were underway to have engineering and computer science courses in Tamil, he said.
On medical education, he said the government was now involved in introducing MBBS courses in Tamil and a committee of three professors was formed in that regard. "I request funds for the development of Tamil language on par with Sanskrit and take steps to make Tamil the official language in Central government offices," Ponmudy said.
Amit Shah, addressing during the 75th platinum jubilee celebrations of The India Cements Limited, had appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to introduce Tamil as a medium of instruction in medical and technical education.