What is in the note tendered by Justice Wigneswaran in the Parliament?
Jaffna District Parliamentarian and Former Chief Minister of Northern province Justice C. V. Wigneswaran whilst speaking in Parliament on Friday in response to those who expressed racial remarks to his first parliament day speech, had tendered a note to the speaker to be included in the Hansard. The note prepared by Professor Pathmanathan, Emeritus Professor of History, Chancellor, Jaffna University, speaks of The Antiquity of the Tamil Language and Tamil Society in Sri Lanka.
Below we publish the full text of the note:
“Tamil Society in Sri Lanka which was concentrated mainly in the Northern and Eastern Districts and also in some localities of the Puttalam District had its origins in an intermixture of the Peoples of the Mesolithic and Megalithic cultures. The Mesolithic culture had existed for a long period of 28000 years BC. The People of the Megalithic culture identified as Dravidians by Senarat Paranavitarana, a former Archaeological Commissioner, started moving into the Island since 800 BC from various parts of South India. The intermixture was a long process that was consummated during the Early Historic Period (250 BC to 300 AD).
The Megalithic culture was introduced by the Nagas who spoke the Tamil Language and used Prakrit as a language of communication with the People of the sub continent beyond Thamil Naadu, especially on matters of commerce and culture. Recently observations by some scholars have revealed the existence of Tamil inscriptions engraved in the Tamil Brahmi Script and in the Tamil language on Dolmens and other funerary monuments in different parts of the Island. In these there are references to the Nagas and the designation of Chieftains called Verl. The close association of the Tamil language with the Megalithic culture presupposes that this language was spoken in the Island since the introduction of Megalithic culture around 800 B.C.
The items and artefacts bearing inscriptions in Tamil Brahmi are found in a large variety of items and locations. They are found on potsherds, oil press, mortars, grinding stones, seals, metallic and earthern lamps and symbols of worship and veneration pertaining to Saivaism, the Naga cult and Buddhism. They are also found on hills, rocks, in fields and jungles and on the walls and foundations secular and religious monuments. The abundance of material and large number of sites of their location presupposes that Tamil language had attained a position of dominance in a geographically contiguous portion of the Island amounting to about a fourth of its territorial extent.”
Meaning of words and phrases used above
Mesolithic – Relating to or denoting the middle part of the Stone Age between Palaeolithic and Neolithic ages marked by appearance of small bladed often hafted (handled) stone tools and weapons (Meso – middle; lithic – obtained from stone); Megalithic – Relating to or denoting pre historic monuments made of or containing large stones (Mega – massive; lithic- obtained from stone); Dravidians – Dravidians were the majority population across the Indian sub continent before the second millennium – 11th to 20th centuries before Christ.; Early Historic Period – 6th Century B.C. to 4th Century B.C.; Nagas – The ancient People who inhabited Sri Lanka
Prakrit – Any of the ancient or medieval vernacular dialects spoken in India. Tamil Brahmi
Script – Earliest script used to write old Tamil. Compare Vaigai Valley Civilisation (Kiladi) with Indus Valley Civilisation; Dolmens – Stone Table Funerary Monuments – Monuments relating to Funerals; Artefacts – Made by human workmanship Potsherds – Fragments of pottery
