31,600 Govt employees in Coimbatore sign in Tamil
Coimbatore dt records 84 per cent implementation of Tamil as official languageCoimbatore: Coimbatore District has recorded 84 per cent implementation of Tamil as official language and efforts are on to increase the percentage, said M. Rajendran, Director of Tamil Development here on March-24.He was speaking at a conference on `Implementation of Tamil as an Official Language'. Certificates were distributed to officials who attended training in implementation of Tamil as an official language.
Prizes were given to students who performed well in literary competitions.Mr.Rajendran said that Coimbatore district had pioneered in promoting scientific Tamil and it was late industrialist G.D. Naidu who had been a leader in the use of Tamil in science. Out of the 32,000 Government servants in the district, as many as 31,600 were signing in Tamil, which worked out to 98.75 per cent. Only 1.25 per cent of the officers were not signing in Tamil. The Government would no longer appeal to officers to sign in Tamil. It was for them to change, he said.
Earlier, the Government used to appeal to the tinsel industry to name their films in pure Tamil but the scenario had totally changed because of the concessions. He cited a number of instances when the names of the films were changed to Tamil even when the shooting was on and after the names had been announced.Efforts were on to make Tamil the official language even in the judiciary, Mr.Rajendran said, and pointed out that popularising Tamil in primary and secondary education has resulted in a situation wherein no one would be graduating without knowing basic Tamil.
Secretary to Government for Tamil Development, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments and Information Department, D. Rajendran said that the Centre accorded classical status to languages that were at least 1,500 to 2,000 years old and Tamil qualified itself for the status, he said.Tamil had at least 41 ancient literary works in document form, thus enabling it get the status, he noted. Even today, officers in other States were conversing only in their native language even at conferences and meetings attended by officers from outside the State. Hence, officers in Tamil Nadu should start speaking in Tamil, he said.
