Compiled by C. ARUNO, JO TIMBUONG and R. ARAVINTHAN
THE Malaysia Hindu Sangam (MHS) has launched a broadside against the prominence given to the Dravidian principles and attempt to sideline Hindu traditions in Tamil schools, Makkal Osai reported.
MHS president Datuk RS Mohan Shan said some Education Ministry officials were trying to include Dravidian concepts and the teachings of Periyar in Tamil schools’ activities and even syllabus.
Dravidians are South Indians such as Tamils whose own culture is said to pre-date the influence of Hinduism in the region.
The movement to restore the nativist culture, which was spearheaded by social reformers and thinkers such as Periyar EV Ramasamy, is part of a complex ongoing culture war in states such as Tamil Nadu.
The often politicised discussions also influence the Hindu, Indian and Tamil diaspora worldwide.
Mohan Shan said the inclusion of Periyar’s philosophy and teachings in Tamil school books in 2016 and stating the Tamil month of Thai as the Tamil New Year were examples of prominence being given to the school of thought.
The new year has been a point of cultural contention and MHS has maintained that it was the Chitthirai month, at the beginning of the year, in keeping with the Hindu tradition.
The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.
