Over 1100-yr-old Tamil inscription talks of democratic processes in India: PM

Asserting that India is the worlds oldest democracy with numerous historical references to democratic principles Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said an over 1100yearold inscription from Tamil Nadu talks about rules for a local body including provision for disqualifying a memberSpeaking at Tamil New Year celebrations at the residence of Union minister L Murugan here Modi said Tamil is the worlds oldest language and every Indian is proud of thisDressed in traditional Tamil attire Modi said Tamil literature is also widely respected and the Tamil film industry has given some of the most iconic worksIndia is the worlds oldest democracy it is the mother of democracy There are numerous historical references to this An important reference is Tamil Nadu Modi saidHe said that in Tamil Nadus Uthiramerur there is an inscription 11001200yearsold where one gets a glimpse of democratic values of the countryThe inscription found there is like a local constitution for the gram sabha there In this it has been told how the assembly should be run what should be the qualification of members what should be the process to elect the members Not only that in that era they had decided how a member would be disqualified the prime minister saidThere has been a major political slugfest between the BJP and the Opposition parties after the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha following his conviction and sentencing in a 2019 defamation caseIn his remarks Modi said As a country it is our responsibility to take forward this culture and tradition but we all know what happened earlier Now I have been given this responsibility He also talked about how he spoke in Tamil at the UN and other efforts to promote Tamil culture including in Sri LankaAlso readCovid19 surge Maha records 1086 new cases one death active tally 5700He also asked people to make a new year resolution to include millets in their dietThe event also saw performance by Tamil artists and was attended by many people from Tamil NaduIn his remarks Modi said there is so much in Tamil culture that has shaped India as a nationTamil culture and people are eternal as well as global From Chennai to California from Madurai to Melbourne from Coimbatore to Cape Town from Salem to Singapore you will find Tamil people who have carried with them their culture and traditions Modi saidThe ancient Tamil culture and tradition of taking new energy from Puthandu new year is truly amazing he saidThis makes Tamil Nadu and Tamil people very special That is why I have always been enchanted by this tradition and have also had an emotional attachment to this he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever