Over 1100-yr-old Tamil inscription talks of democratic processes in India, including for election and disqualification: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, file photo AFP.

Asserting that India is the world's oldest democracy with numerous historical references to democratic principles, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said an over 1,100-year-old inscription from Tamil Nadu talks about rules for a local body, including provision for disqualifying a member.

Speaking at Tamil New Year celebrations at the residence of Union minister L Murugan here, Modi said Tamil is the world's oldest language and every Indian is proud of this.

Dressed in traditional Tamil attire, Modi said Tamil literature is also widely respected and the Tamil film industry has given some of the most iconic works.

"India is the world's oldest democracy, it is the mother of democracy. There are numerous historical references to this. An important reference is Tamil Nadu," Modi said.

He said that in Tamil Nadu's Uthiramerur, there is an inscription 1100-1200-years-old where one gets a glimpse of democratic values of the country.

"The 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 said.

There 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 case.

In 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 Lanka.

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He also asked people to make a new year resolution to include millets in their diet.

The event also saw performance by Tamil artists and was attended by many people from Tamil Nadu.

In his remarks, Modi said there is so much in Tamil culture that has shaped India as a nation.

"Tamil 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 said.

The ancient Tamil culture and tradition of taking new energy from 'Puthandu (new year)' is truly amazing, he said.

"This 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 said.

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