Writing the life stories of the Tamils in the lives and battles, in the achievements, failures and triumphs, all in 400 pages is like bringing the waters of the Cauvery, Vaigai, Kollidam and Adyar in to one fountain pen in writing the Varalaru (history) of the Tamils. Nirmala Lakshman, Chairperson, The Hindu Group, has cohesively brought all these in her book The Tamils, A Portrait of a Community, said Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Distinguished Professor of History, Ashoka University.

Gandhi launched the book at a function on Thursday with the first copy received by V Vedachalam, an epigraphist, archaeologist and historian. 

In his speech, Vedachalam said the five years of hard work by Nirmala Lakshman had paid off in the form of the book. “She travelled across the State to learn and record about the evolution of Tamil and the culture of Tamil,” he added.

Panoramic detail of Tamil civilisation

According to David Davidar, Publisher, Aleph Book Company, the book presents a panoramic and detailed view of the Tamil civilisation with an indelible portrait of the community and its heritage.

The book traces the remarkable journey of the people of this land, starting from the Stone Age (1.7 million years ago) all the way to the epic Sangam era (300 BCE to 300 CE), whose literature highlights the influential role of dynasties like the Pallavas, Pandyas, Cholas and Cheras, and the thriving Jain community of that time.

The book also examines the evolution and spread of Tamil culture through the Bhakti movement, and the arrival of Christianity and Islam. The book also examines the medieval and modern political history of the region, and describes the setting up of the sultanates of the south, rule of the Nayaks, the Vijaynagar dynasty, the Marathas and the coming of the British. It also goes deep in the freedom struggle and the non-Brahmin movement before describing the distinctive attributes of the Tamils in the modern era, especially the changes that are taking place in the 21st Century.

Complex issues

Taking a journalistic approach than anything else on writing the book, Nirmala Lakshman in her speech said, “I am not an expert nor a academic so I felt that I had the liberty to approach this subject in a kind of open ended way without being simplistic. However, I was aware that there are complex issues such as caste inequities, caste violence, economic and political imbalances and multiple ways of reading society and the politics of Tamilakam right from the earliest days.”

“There are sharp divides on interpretation of events, strident disagreements on notions of antiquity of Tamil history and language and yet, through the complexities, I discovered a narrative of sorts can be fashioned, and what emerged finally was, I think, a potpourri of Tamil experience,” she said.