CHENNAI: VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan on Sunday appealed to Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar to announce a gold medal and cash prize to Tamil students, akin to the award for Hindi students, in Sri Lankan universities.
"Hindi is taught in the Department of Languages at Sabaragamuwa University in south Sri Lanka, where an annual gold medal and a cash prize of Rs 25,000 are awarded to the students scoring the highest marks. The Indian Consulate in Kandy has provided a deposit of Rs 8 lakh to fund this award through its interest," said Thiruma in a letter to Jaishankar.
He flagged that similar incentives were not offered to students studying Tamil, despite a significant Tamil population in Sri Lanka. "As you are aware, Tamils in Sri Lanka have faced historical and systemic discrimination, and many look to India as a cultural and supportive ally. In this context, supporting Hindi while overlooking Tamil creates a perception of bias, which could be counterproductive in India's relationship with the Tamil community in Sri Lanka."
The Chidambaram MP urged the Union minister to introduce a similar award for Tamil students at Sabaragamuwa and other universities that would reflect India's commitment to supporting the ethnic community and promoting cultural plurality.