Known for his affinity towards Tamil language and culture, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Vijay today said the biography of celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar should be made compulsory for schools in other parts of the country.
"Thiruvalluvar's biography must be made compulsory and read by every Indian. I am taking with myself the biography of Tiruvalluvar to North Indian schools. In January, we will be celebrating Tiruvalluvar's birthday and take efforts to give national status to the home of Subramanya Bharati in Varanasi," Vijay told reporters here.
Replying to a query on language imposition, he said "I am against imposition. Any such imposition by anybody anywhere. It must come from your heart and people must learn Tamil but it is not a trade-off that I'll speak for Tamil and I'll ask you to learn other language or my language. So, do what is good for you."
To a query on whether he would also raise his voice for issues relating to Tamils, especially the five fishermen who have been awarded death sentence by a Sri Lankan court in a drug smuggling case, he said "they are my people. They are Indian fishermen and if don't work for them, I am less of an Indian. We are committed and in fact Prime Minister has spoken to Mahinda Rajapaksa and Indian High Commissioners are taking efforts... And we will see that our fishermen are brought back safe."
The MP from Uttarakhand is scheduled to meet one of the family members of the five fishermen near Chennai tomorrow.
Tarun's affinity towards Tamil language came out in the open during September last year when he voiced for declaring Tamil, the second official language of India, in the Rajya Sabha.
The former editor of RSS mouthpiece 'Panchajanya' also made a fresh representation to President Pranab Mukherjee for use of Tamil as High Court language in Tamil Nadu in August this year.
