Create centre in Chennai to study Tamil estampages: HC to Union govt

Holding that the availability of estampages of Tamil inscriptions at Chennai instead of Mysuru can aid easy access for scholars’ to nearly 60 per cent of unpublished inscriptions, the Madras High Court has directed the Union government to establish a separate Office of Epigraphy Branch (Tamil) at Chennai within six months.

Seeking that a centre on estampage (impression of an inscription made on inked paper) to be set up on the lines of Epigraphy Branch (Arabic and Persian inscriptions) at Nagpur, a division bench comprising Justice N Kirubakaran (since retired) and Justice M Duraiswamy said, “The inscriptions are the primary sources for reconstructing the history of the people, society, economic conditions, religion, water system, irrigation etc. They shed more light on the past history of the Tamils.” 

The court directed the Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to transfer all the estampages and other related Tamil documents and inscriptions from Mysuru to Southern Zone Epigraphy Branch, Chennai, or to the proposed separate centre within six months.

Directing ASI to appoint the required number of epigraphists and officials according to the number of inscriptions in each language, the bench asked the State government to provide all infrastructure for the proposed centre.

“The central government and the ASI shall allocate more funds for Epigraphy Division of ASI for research and preservation of estampages and other materials within six months,” the bench added. It also sought for sanction of at least 100 posts to the Epigraphy Division, noting that it has allotted only 38 posts to Epigraphy Division out of 738 posts created and sanctioned for ASI.

Justifying its decision on directing the shifting of the centre to Chennai, the bench held, “A full-fledged Office for Tamil Inscriptions will solve the problem of new findings which are yet to be discovered in remote places of Tamil Nadu and other parts of the country.

New discoveries can be motivated through the Tamil wing at Chennai. Publications and digitalisation will be easy in Chennai rather than in Mysuru, as all the modern technologies are available at Chennai to speed up the work.

“The very purpose of the establishment of Epigraphy wing in 1887 by ASI under E Hultszch at Chennai would be accomplished through shifting of estampages in Tamil at Chennai, as it was founded by the British,” the bench added.