Tamil included as qualification criteria for ASI course, TN CM and LoP welcomes

Chennai

Central Government has issued a Government Order to add Tamil along other languages like Kannada, Odiya and Malayalam as a qualification criteria for a two-year Post-Graduate Diploma in Archaeology.

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had published an advertisement for admissions in Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology in Noida.

In those guidelines the criteria for qualification had knowledge of Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit and Arabic but Tamil was not mentioned.

Exclusion of Tamil was reproached by Tamil Nadu's politicians and Tamil linguaphiles alike.

This move of including Tamil comes after a day Tamil Nadu's CM writing a demi-official letter to PM Modi raising concerns about this guideline.

Tamil got its classical language status in the year 2004, the first Indian language to have been honoured, even before Sanskrit (2005).

Tamil Nadu's CM Edappadi Palaniswami thanked the PM for reconsidering the earlier decision that irked Tamils and including the language as a qualification criteria.

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.

Inputs from PTI