Chennai: Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Friday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for heeding his plea to include Master's degree in Tamil as a minimum qualification criteria for a two-year Post-Graduate Diploma in Archaeology course in a Noida institution.
The chief minister had earlier written to Modi on the matter, seeking that Tamil be included as one of the minimum qualification criteria for the course at the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
"I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for the immediate response to my request to include Master''s degree in Tamil as one of the minimum qualification criteria for the two-year Post-Graduate Diploma in Archaeology course," Palaniswami said in a letter to the PM.
On Thursday, citing a recent ASI advertisement listing Pali, Prakrit, Arabic or Persian too under the classical language category alongside Sanskrit, Palaniswami had pointed out to Modi that among the listed languages, only Sanskrit was declared a classical language in 2005 by the Centre. "Tamil, which was the first language in India officially recognised as a classical language in 2004, has been completely ignored (in the admission process)," he had alleged.
Meanwhile, DMK President and Leader of Opposition, MK Stalin, also welcomed the inclusion of Tamil. In a Facebook post, he said languages are the cultural base in pluralistic India and warned the BJP against showing "step-motherly treatment" in dealing with them.
PTI
Also Read: AIADMK names Palaniswami as CM candidate for 2021 Assembly polls
