Tamil Nadu Govt allots Rs 5 crore to establish Tamil literature department at JNU

NEW DELHI: The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday announced to contribute Rs 5 crore to establish a Tamil Literature department at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). According to the order issued by the state government, the sanctioned sum will be utilised as a fixed deposit and the interest earned from it will be used to pay teachers' salaries and other necessary expenses.

The Tamil literature department will be established in accordance with an agreement to be signed between the Director of Tamil Development and JNU. "Tamil Literature Studies, Tamil and Dravidian Linguistics Studies, Tamil and Southern History, Social Studies and the Tamil Department of Jawaharlal Nehru University has been expanded as a separate department of Tamil Literature. A fund of Rs 5 crore has been ordered for this purpose," the Tamil Nadu government said in a statement.

Also Read | JNU rector AK Dubey running two NGOs from university address, allege teachers

The Department of Tamil Literature will offer comparative studies, postgraduate coursework, expert translations of literary works, and the execution of projects through guest faculty. A residency programme for Tamil academics, and workshops for teachers will also be conducted in addition to coordination with international universities, the official statement read.

At present, JNU offers a PhD programme in Tamil under the Center for Indian Language. However, it does not offer a master's programme in the Tamil language

Expressing her gratitude, JNU Vice-Chancellor Santishree D Pandit in a letter to Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin thanked him for the initiative and said that the state government’s financial aid was a “great service to Tamil development”.