By P.T. Bopanna
Kodava Thakk being my mother tongue, I wish to note that the Kodava language is as old as the other Dravidian languages, including Kannada and Tamil.
International language experts have established that Kodava Thakk is an independent Dravidian language and not a dialect as was wrongly believed.
Comparative Dravidian studies have shown that the Kodava language belongs to the South Dravidian group of languages, which branched off from Proto-Dravidian. In that group it is closely related to Tamil-Malayalam. The other members of the group are Irula, Kota, Toda, Kannada, Tulu and Koraga.
At best, Kannada and Tamil are sister languages, and not mother and daughter as sought to be made out by Kamal Hasan.
Having lived in Tamil Nadu, I understand the mind-set of Tamils. It was Periyar Ramaswamy Naikar, founder of the Dravidian movement, who maintained that Tamil was the mother of all South Indian languages. It is a fact that Sangam literature which dates back to 300 BCE, is evidence of Tamil being an old language.
But Kannada language agitators should understand the context in which Kamal Hasan spoke. He was trying to impress on the fact that both Kannada and Tamil have close links when he spoke in the presence of actor Shivarajkumar. Kamal Hassan was not trying to undermine Kannada, but stressing on the closeness of the two Dravidian languages.
In a way, Kamal hit two birds with one stone. His remark got wide publicity for his upcoming film ‘Thug Life’, directed by Mani Ratnam. Secondly, he is being sent to Rajya Sabha with support from DMK. So his remark of Tamil being mother of all Dravidian languages, will help him politically.
To know more about how Kodava Thakk is not a dialect, but an independent language, follow the link below:
