Chola Kudavolai Democratic Election System will make all TN politicians ineligible

Uthiramerur Inscriptions on Chola Kudavolai Election System

While another round of senseless protests are happening in Tamilnadu, over the recitation of the Ganesha invocation at IIT Chennai, (unmindful of the fact that this has been common practice in most public functions all over India), by the so called custodians of Tamil, the democratic electoral system followed by the great Chola empire will make most, if not all, current Tamilnadu politicians (and even their families) ineligible to even contest.

• Must have knowledge of 'Mantrabrahmana' (Mantra Text) as well as experience in teaching the same to others
• Must have learned one Veda and one of the four Bhashyas and experienced in explaining them to others, then he shall be eligible to contest

The archaeological inscriptions can not be disputed.

Facade of Vaikundaperumal Temple - General Village Assembly (Mahasabha) of Uttaramerur Chaturvedimangalam


Plaque 1: Inscriptions of Parantaka Chola I Explained


Plaque 2: Inscriptions of Parantaka Chola I Explained


Plaque 3: Inscriptions of Parantaka Chola I Explained


South plinth (Upa-peeta, Upana, Jagadi, kumuda) showing inscriptions


West plinth (Upa-peeta, Upana, Jagadi, kumuda) showing inscriptions


View from North-East corner: Vaikundaperumal Temple - General Village Assembly (Mahasabha) of Uttaramerur Chaturvedimangalam


Vaikundaperumal Temple Vimanam of Uttaramerur Chaturvedimangalam


Vaikundaperumal Temple Pillared Hall - General Village Assembly (Mahasabha) of Uttaramerur Chaturvedimangalam


Jayagandan, Sasi Dharan and D Kannan @ Vaikundaperumal Temple - General Village Assembly (Mahasabha) of Uttaramerur Chaturvedimangalam


Uttaramerur Inscriptions of Parantaka Chola I (முதலாம் பராந்தகன் )
Location: Uttaramerur, Kanchipuram Taluk, Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu, India
Chola Emperor: Parantaka Chola I (முதலாம் பராந்தகன்) (907 - 956 AD.)
Regnal Years: 12th Regnal year (919 AD) inscription 12 lines and 14th Regnal Year (921 AD) inscription 18 lines
Inscription Language: Tamil
Inscription Script: Tamil Grantha of 10th century
Uttaramerur, an ancient Chola village once known as Chaturvedimangalam, is located about 85 km from Chennai. This village, developed on the canons of the agama texts, has the village general assembly aka. mahasabha mandapa at the centre. The three temples well known for its architecture, sculptures and epigraphy i.e, 1. Kailasanatha Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, 2. Sundara Varadaraja Perumal Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu and 3. the Balasubramanya temple dedicated to Lord Subramanya, are oriented with reference to the mandapa.


Background

The Chola administration was functioning on the principles of democracy and the Panchayat system flourished during their reign. The Chola self government was built up on 'general assemblies' or 'sabhas' or 'mahasabhas' of the villages. All aspects of village community life were administered by these general assemblies. The mahasabhas encouraged and accepted endowments from public towards temple functions and services and disposed services as per laid down procedure. In several occasions they exercised their authority in selling the land portions under their jurisdiction to individuals of various villages and towns. They also ascertained the purchase and accepted endowments offered by public. The mahasabha also to accept paddy grains or ghee as well as gold Kalanchu, accrued as interest of the principal, in certain stipulated measurements. The sabha also accepted gifts from royal king and his family members and the same was registered and documented with care.

During Chola Empire the Uttaramerur village was gifted to 1200 Vaishnava Brahmins and hence known as Chaturvedimangalam (சதுர்வேதிமங்கலம்) or Brahmadeya or Devadana type of villages (Brahman settlements). 

The village gained more popularity as the temples became the centres of life and these villages were administrated by the mahasabha. The mahasabhas were apparently an exclusively Brahman assembly of the villages. The inscriptions on the temple walls speak about prevalence of village general assemblies in Manur (Tirunelveli), Tiruninravur (Thiruvallur), Manimangalam (Kanchipuram), Dadasamudram (Kanchipuram), Sithamalli and Thalaignayiru (Thanjavur), Jambai (Villupuram) and Ponnamaravathy (Pudukottai).

Uttaramerur Chaturvedhi Mangalam

The village general assembly or mahasabha of Uttaramerur Chaturvedhi Mangalam, also known as Vaikunta Perumal Temple, is the huge granite structure with sanctum sanctorum and the huge pillared hall with roof measuring about 2500 s.ft. The Dravidian kind of vimanam adorns on top of the sanctum. The village assembly appears to be the dynamic hub from 9th century A.D. to 11th century. Lord Vishnu, the presiding deity of Vaikunta Perumal Temple and the Lord of Just, would have presided over the transactions of the village assembly sessions. The present sanctum has no deity.

Two complete inscriptions were copied from the plinth of the sabha mandapa walls of the temple complex of Vaikundaperumal at Uttaramerur (Uthiramerur Taluk , Kanchipuram District) by ASI (now popularly known as 'Uttaramerur inscriptions.'. Both inscriptions belong to the Chola King: Paranthaka I (907–955).

The inscription details the resolutions of the general assembly of Uttaramerur Chaturvedhi Mangalam relating to the Royal orders of Parantaka Chola I issued on the 11th and 14th regnal years on the constitution of the sabha or mahasabha and the 'Pot ticket election procedures' (Kudavolai (குடவோலை முறை) system) to be followed for the village general assembly or sabha of Uttaramerur Chaturvedhi Mangalam. The village general assembly met and resolved about the qualification for the members of the sabha, election procedures for the 30 wards of Uttaramerur Chaturvedhi Mangalam.

Chola Emperor


Paranthaka I (907–955) who conquered Madurai (மதிரை கொண்ட கோப்பரகேசரிவர்மர்)

Regnal Year

12th Regnal year of Paranthaka I (யாண்டு பனிரெண்டாவது) (12ஆம் ஆட்சியாண்டிலும் (Approximately 919 AD கி.பி919), and
14th Regnal Year sixteenth day of Paranthaka I ) (யாண்டு பதினாலாவது நாள் பதினாறு) 14ஆம் ஆட்சியாண்டிலும் (Approximately 921 AD கி.பி. 921)


Royal (Letter) Order

The Chola emperors gave Royal (verbal) orders (tiruvakya-kelvi) which were drafted by the private secretary and confirmed by the Olainayakam (Chief Secretary) and a Perundaram (higher officials) before its despatch by the Vidaiyadhikari (despatch clerk).

The Royal (letter) Order of Devendhran, the Emperor, Sri Viranayana Sri Parantaka Deva (who also assumed the title as) Parakesari varman was in receipt and was shown to us (members of mahasabha) (தேவேந்திரன் சக்ரவர்த்தி ஸ்ரீ வீரநாராயண ஸ்ரீ பராந்தக தேவர் ஆகிய பரகேசரி வர்மர் ஸ்ரீ முகம் அருளிச் செய்து வரக்காட்ட) 

Village Under Reference

We the members of the Mahasabha of the village Uttaramerur Chaturvedhi Mangalam of Dhana Kurru forming part of Kaliyur Kottam (காலியூர் கோட்டத்து தன கூற்று உத்திரமேரு சதுர்வேதி மங்கலத்து சபையோம்)

General Assembly met in the Presence of the Village Assembly Officer

We the members met this day as general assembly in the presence of Karanjai Kondaya - Kramavitha bhattan (Brahmin caste title) alias Somasiperumal of Srivanga nagar (name of town) in Purangarambainadu (name of district), of the Chola Nadu (country) (சோழ நாட்டுப்புறங் கரம்பை நாட்டு ஸ்ரீ வாங்க நகரக்கரஞ் செய்கை கெண்ட யக்ரமவித்த பட்டனாகிய சோமாசி பெருமாள்)

Resolution of the Assembly and the Settlement

The village general assembly of the Uttaramerur Chaturvedimangalam met in the general assembly hall of the village, where it deliberated the resolution:

The village general assembly of the Uttaramerur Chaturvedimangalam was convening the committee as directed in royal order and was resolved and settled as per the terms given in the royal letter. Accordingly it was resolved to choose the member for the 'Annual Committee,' (ஸம்வத்ஸர வாரியம்) 'Garden Committee,' (தோட்ட வாரியம்) and the 'Water bodies Committee' (ஏரிவாரியம்) commencing from this year. (உத்திரமேருச்சதுர்வேதிமங்கலத்து சபையோம் இவ்வாண்டுமுதல் எங்களூர் ஸ்ரீமுகப்படி ஆஞையினால் தத்தனூர் மூவேந்த வேளான் இருந்து வாரியமாக ஆட்டொருக்காலும் ஸம்வத்ஸர வாரியமும் தோட்ட வாரியமும் ஏரிவாரியமும் இடுவதற்கு வ்யவஸ்தை செய்த பரிசாவது..)

Village ward or Kudumbu' (குடும்பு)

According to the inscriptions, each village was divided into wards or Kudumbu' (குடும்பு), and each ward or Kudumbu' (குடும்பு) could send one representative to the general assembly.

There shall be thirty wards in Uttaramerur Chaturvedimangalam; (முப்பதா முப்பது குடும்பிலும் )

In all these thirty wards, all people who live in each ward shall fore gather and shall elect anyone possessing the following qualifications through "pot-tickets" (Kuda Olai - குடவோலை) election system: (குடும்பு முப்பதா முப்பது குடும்பிலும் அவ்வவ் குடும்பிலாரே கூடிக் )

Specific qualifications were prescribed for those who wanted to contest: 

1. age, 

2. possession of immovable property and 

3. education. 

Thus, those who wanted to be elected had to be above 35 years of age and below 70 years. Only those who owned land that attracted tax could contest. And such owners had to own a house built on a legally-owned site to qualify for the elections. A person serving in any of the committees could not contest again for the next three terms, each term lasting a year.

Those who wanted to contest:

1. Must own more than a quarter veli (One Veļi = 6.17 acre 6.17 ஏக்கர் ஒரு வேலி Tamil Wikipedia) tax-paying land (காணிலத்துக்கு மேல் இறை நிலமுடையான் );

2. Must own a house built on a legally-owned site (தன் மனையிலே அகம் மெடுத்துக் கொண்டிருப்பானை );

3. Must be above 35 years of age and below 70 years (எழுபது பிராயத்தின் கீழ் முப்பத்தைந்து பிராயத்தின் மேற்ப்பட்டார் );

4. Must have knowledge of 'Mantrabrahmana' (Mantra Text) as well as experience in teaching the same to others (மந்த்ர பிராமணம் வல்லான் ஒதுவித்தறிவானைக் );

5. Can own only one - eighth (1 / 8) veli of land and must have learned one Veda and one of the four Bhashyas and experienced in explaining them to others, then he shall be eligible to contest i.e, voters write his name on the pot-ticket (ballot) to be cast into the pot (ballot pot) (அரக்கா நிலமே யுடையனாயிலும் ஒரு வேதம் வல்லனாய் நாலு பாஷ்யத்திலும் ஒரு பாஷ்யம் வக காணித்தறிவான அவனையுங் குட வோலை எழுதிப் புக இடுவதாகவும்);

6. Must be among those possessing qualifications such as expertise in business and are known for their virtues (அவர்களிலும் கார்யத்தில் நிபுணராய் ஆகாரமு டையாரானாரை யேய் கொள்வதாகவும்);

7. Must be among those who possess honest earnings and pure mind; (அர்த்த சௌசமும் ஆன்ம சௌசமும் உடையாராய்);

Those Disqualified to contest

1. Are those who have served in any of the committees for the last three years and have not submitted their accounts and all their relatives mentioned in the following classes. (மூவாட்டினிப்புறம் வாரியஞ் செய்து கணக்குக் காட்டாதே இருந்தாரையும்);

The relatives of the defaulter

2. The sons of the younger and elder sisters of defaulter's mother (இவர்களுக்குத் தாயோடு உடப் பிறந்தானையும் = தாயின் சிறிய, பெரிய சகோதரிகளின் மக்கள்);

3. The sons of defaulter's paternal aunt and maternal uncle (அவர்களுக்கு அத்தை மாமன் மக்களையும்);

4. The uterine brother of defaulter's mother (மாமன்);

5. The uterine brother of defaulter's father (இவர்கள் தகப்பநோடுப் பிறந்தானையும்);

6. Defaulter's uterine brother (இவர்களுக்குச் சிற்றனவர்);

7. Defaulter's father-in-law (மாமனார்);

8. The uterine brother of defaulter's wife (பேரவ்வைக்களையும்);

9. The husband of defaulter's uterine sister (தன்னோடுப் பிறந்தாளை வோட்டானையும் = உடன் பிறந்தாளை திருமணம் செய்தவர்);

10. The sons of defaulter's uterine sister (உடப் பிறந்தாள் மக்களையும்);

11. The son-in-law who has married defaulter's daughter (தன மகளை வேட்ட மருமகனையும் = தன் மகளை மணம் புரிந்த மருமகன்):

12. Defaulter's father (தன தமப்பனையும்);

13. Defaulter's son (தன மகனையும்);

14. One against whom incest (agamyagamana) or the first four of the five great sins are recorded (இடப்பெருதாராகவும், அகமியாகமனத்திலும் மகா பாதங்களில் முன் படைத்த நாலு மகா பாதகத்திலுமெழுத்துப் பட்டாரையும்);

15. All defaulter's relations above specified shall not have their names written on the pot-tickets and put into the pot (இவர்களுக்கும் முன் சுடப்பபட்ட இத்தனை பந்துக்களையும் குடவோலை எழுதிப்புக);

16. One who is foolhardy (சாகசிய ராயிரைப்பாரையும்);

17. One who has stolen the property of another (பரத்ரவியம் அபகரித் தானையும்);

18. One who has taken forbidden dishes (?) of any kind and who has become pure by performing expiation (கிராம கண்டகராய் ப்ராயஸ்சித்தஞ் செய்து சத்தரானாரையும்);

19. One who has committed sins and has become pure by performing expiatory ceremonies (பாதகஞ் செய்து பிராயச் சித்தர் செய்து சுத்தரானாரையும்);

20. One who is guilty of incest and has become pure by performing expiatory ceremonies (அகமியாங்கமஞ் செய்து ப்ராயஸ்சித்தஞ் செய்து சுத்தரானாரையும்);

21. All these thus specified shall not to the end of their lives have their names written on the pot-ticket to be put into the pot for any of the committees (ஆக இச்சுட்டப்பட்ட அனைவரையும் ப்ரானாந்திகம் வாரியத்துக்குக் குடவோலை எழுதி எழுதிப்புகவிடப் பெருதாக).

Mode of Election

1. Excluding all these, thus specified (ஆகா இச்சுட்டப்பட்ட இத்தனைவரையும் நீக்கி);

The names shall be written for pot-tickets in the thirty wards (இம்முப்பது குடும்பிலும் குடவோலைக்குப் பேர் தீட்டி);

2. Each of the wards in these twelve streets of Uttaramerur shall prepare a separate covering ticket for each of the thirty wards bundled separately. These packets shall be put into a pot. (இபன்னிரண்டு சேரியிலுமாக இக்குடும்பும் வெவ்வேறே வாயோலை பூட்டி முப்பது குடும்பும் வெவ்வேறே கட்டிக்குடம் புக இடுவதாகவும்);

3. When the pot-tickets have to be drawn, a full meeting of the Great Assembly, including the young and old members, shall be convened (குடவோலை பறிக்கும் போது மகா சபைத் திருவடியாரை சபால விருத்தம் நிரம்பக் கூட்டிக் கொண்டு);

4. All the temple priests (Nambimar) who happen to be in the village on that day, shall, without any exception whatever, be caused to be seated in the inner hall, where the great assembly meets (அன்றுள்ளீரில் இருந்த நம்பிமார் ஒருவரையும் ஒழியாமே மகா சபையிலேரும் மண்டகத்தி லேயிருத்திக் கொண்டு);

5. In the midst of the temple priests one of them, who happens to be the eldest, shall stand up and lift that pot looking upwards so as to be seen by all people (அந்நம்பிமார் நடுவே அக்குடத்தை நம்பிமாரில் வருத்தராய் இருப்பா ரொரு நம்பி மேல் நோக்கி எல்லா ஜனமுங் காணுமாற்குலெடுத்துக் கொண்டு நிற்க);

6. One ward, i.e., the packet representing it, shall be taken out by any young boy standing close, who does not know what is inside, and shall be transferred to another empty pot and shaken. From this pot one ticket shall be drawn by the young boy and made over to the arbitrator (madhyastha) (பகலே யந்திர மறையாதானொரு பாலனைக் கொண்டு ஒரு குடும்பு வாங்கி மற்றொரு குடத்துகே புகவிட்டுக் குலைத்து அக்குடத்திலோரோலை வாங்கி மத்யஸ்தன் கையிலே குடுப்பதாகவும்);

7. While taking charge of the ticket thus given to him, the arbitrator shall receive it on the palm of his hand with the five fingers open. (அக்குடத்த வோலை மத்தியஸ் தன வாங்கும்போது அஞ்சு விரலும் அகல வைத்த உள்ளங்கையாலே ஏற்றுக் கொள்வானா கவும்);

8. He shall read out the name in the ticket thus received (அவ்வேற்று வாங்கின வோலை வாசிப்பானாகவும்); 

9. The ticket read by him shall also be read out by all the priests present in the inner hall (வாசித்த அவ்வோலை அங்குள் மண்டகத்திருந்த தம்பிமார் எல்லோரும் வாசிப்பாராகவும்); 

10. The name thus read out shall be put down (and accepted). Similarly one man shall be chosen for each of the thirty wards (வாசித்த அப்பர் திட்டமிடுவதாகவும் இப்பரிசே முப்பது குடும்பிலும் ஒரே பேர் கொள்வதாகவும்);

Constitution of the Committee

11. Of the thirty men thus chosen, those who had previously been on the Garden committee and on the Tank committee, those who are advanced in learning, and those who are advanced in age shall be chosen for the Annual Committee. ( இக்கொண்ட முப்பது பேரினுந்தோட்ட வாரியமும் ஏரி வாரியமும் செய்தாரையும் விச்சையா வருத்தரையும் வயோவ்ருத்தர்களையும் சம்வத்ஸர வாரியராக கொள்வதாகவும்);

12. Of the rest, twelve shall be taken for the Garden committee and the remaining six shall form the Tank committee. (மிக்கு நினாருட்பன்னிருவரைத் தொட்ட வாரியங் கொள்வதாகவும் );

13. These last two committees shall be chosen by showing the Karai (நின்ன அறுவரையும் ஏரி வாரியமாகக் கொள்வதாகவும்); 

Duration of the Committees

14. The great men of these three committees thus chosen for them shall hold office for full three hundred and sixty days and then retire ((இவ்வாரியம் செய்கின்ற மூன்று திறத்து வாரியப் பெருமக்களும் முன்னுற்றருபது நாளும் நிரம்பச் செய்து ஒழிவதாகவும்);

Removal of Persons Found Guilty

15. When one who is on the committee is found guilty of any offence, he shall be removed at once (வாரியஞ் செய்ய நின்றாரை அபராதங் கண்டபோது அவனை யொழித்துவதாகவும்);

16. For appointing the committees after these have retired, the members of the Committee “for Supervision of Justice” in the twelve streets of Uttaramerur shall convene an assembly kuri with the help of the Arbitrator (இவர்கள் ஒழித்த அனந்தரமிடும் வாரியங்களும் பன்னிரண்டு சேரியிலும் தன்மைக்ருதயங் கடை காணும் வாரியரே மத்யஸ்தரைக் கொண்டு குறிகூட்டிக் குடுப்பராகவும்);

17. The committees shall be appointed by drawing pot-tickets according to this order of settlement (இவ்வியவஸ்தை யோலைப்படியே...க்ருக்குடவோலை பரித்தக் கொண்டே வாரியம் இடுவதாகவும்).

Pancavara and Gold Committees

18. For the Pancavara committee and the Gold committee, names shall be written for pot-tickets in the thirty wards. Thirty packets with covering tickets shall be deposited in a pot and thirty pot-tickets shall be drawn as previously described. (பஞ்சவார வாரியத்துக்கும் பொன் வாரியத்துக்கு முப்பது குடும்பிலும் குடவோலைக்குப் பேர் தீட்டி முப்பது வாயோலை கட்டும் புக இட்டு முப்பது குடவோலை பறித்து முப்பதிலும் பன்னிரண்டு பேர் பறித்துக் கொள்வதாகவும்);

19. From these thirty tickets chosen, twenty-four shall be for the Gold committee and the remaining six for the Pancavara committee. (பறித்த பன்னிரண்டு பேர் அறுவர் பொன் வாரியம் அறுவர் பஞ்ச வாரியமும் ஆவனவாகவும்);

20. When drawing pot-tickets for these two committees next year, the wards which have been already represented during the year in question on these committees shall be excluded and the reduction made from the remaining wards by drawing the Karai. (பிற்றை ஆண்டும் இவ்வரியங்களை குடவோலை பறிக்கும் போது இவ்வரியங்களுக்கு முன்னம் செய்த குடும்பன்றிக்கே நின்ற குடும்பிலே கரை பறித்துக் கொள்வதாகவும்);

21. One who has ridden on an ass and one who has committed forgery shall not have his name written on the pot-ticket to be put into the pot (கழுதை ஏறினாரையும் கூடலேகை செய்தானையும் குடவோலை எழுதிப்புக் இடப் பெருததாகவும்).

Qualification of the Accountant

1. Any Arbitrator who possesses honest earnings shall write the accounts of the village (மத்தியஸ்தரும் அர்த்த சௌசமுடையானே கணக்கெழுது வானாகவும்); 

2. No accountant shall be appointed to that office again before he submits his accounts for the period during which he was in office to the great men of the big committee and is declared to have been honest (கணக்கெழுதினான் கணக்குப் பெருங்குறிப் பெருமக்களோடு கூடக் கணக்குக் காட்டி சுத்தன் ஆச்சி தன பின்னன்றி மாற்றுக் கணக்குப் புகழ் பெருதானாகவும்);

3. The accounts which one has been writing, he shall submit himself and no other accountant shall he chosen to close his accounts (தான் எழுதின கணக்குத் தானே காட்டுவானாகவும் மாற்றுக் கணக்கர் புக்கு ஒடுக்கப் பெருதாராகவும்);

Implementation

1. The Royal Order shall implement Pot Ticket Procedure (Kudavolai System) from this year and shall continue till the existence of Moon and Sun (இப்பரிசே இவ்வாண்டு முதல் சந்த்ராதித்யவத் என்றும் குடவோலை வாரியமே இடுவதாக )

Received From

1. Royal Order received from Devendhran, the Emperor, Sri Viranayana Sri Parantaka Deva (who also assumed the title as) Parakesari varman (தேவேந்திரன் சக்ரவர்த்தி பட்டிதவச்சவன் குஞ்சர மல்லன் சூரா சூளாமணி கல்பகசரிதை ஸ்ரீ பரகேசரிபன்மர்கள் ஸ்ரீ முகம் அருளிச் செய்து);

Received and Submitted by Village Assembly Officer

1. Royal Order received and shown (submitted) to the Members of the general assembly of Uttaramerur Chaturvedhi Mangalam by Karanjai Kondaya - Kramavitha bhattan (Brahmin caste title) alias Somasiperumal of Srivanga nagar (name of town) in Purangarambainadu (name of district), of the Chola Nadu (country) (வரக் காட்ட ஸ்ரீ ஆளஞயால் சோழ நாட்டு புறங்கரம்பை நாட்டு ஸ்ரீ வங்க நகர்க் காஞ்சை கொண்ட யாக்ரமவித்த பாட்டனாகிய சேர்மாசி பெருமானுடன் இருந்து இப்பரிசு செய்விக்க);

Madhyasthan

1. Kadadippottan Sivakkuri Rajamallamangalapriyan functioned as the madhyasthan of Uttaramerur Chaturvedimangalam sabha (நம் கிராமத்து அப்யுதயமாக துஷ்டர் கேட்டு விசிஷ்டர் வர்த்திப்பதாக வியவஸ்தை செய்தோம் மத்யஸ்தன் காடாடிப் போத்தன் சிவகுறி இராஜமல்ல மங்கலப்பிரியனேன்);

The Scribe

1. At the order of the great men, sitting in the assembly, the Arbitrator Kadadippottan Sivakkuri Rajamallamangalapriyan, thus wrote this settlement. (உத்தரமேரு சதுர்வேதி மங்கலத்துச் சபையாம் இப்பரிசு குறியுள் இருந்து பெருமக்கள் பணிக்கு வியவஸ்தை மத்யஸ்தன் காடாடிப் போத்தன் சிவகுறி இராஜமல்ல மங்கலப்பிரியனேன்.)

Reference

An 1100 years-old Constitution http://satyameva-jayate.org/2008/07/12/1100-yrs-constitution/
Ancient Epigraphical Inscription on elections: Vaikuntha Perumal Temple, Uthiramerur, Kancheepuram District http://tnsec.tn.nic.in/historical/Epigraphical%20Inscription.html
Constitution 1,000 years ago. The Hindu Chennai 11 July 2008
Status of Panchayati Raj in the States of India, 1994 http://books.google.co.in/books?isbn=8170225531
Temple of democracy Business Standard July 20, 2014 http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/temple-of-democracy-112070700027_1.html
Temple inscriptions point to early Chola inroads into Pallava region by T.S. Subramanian The Hindu Chennai Nov 20, 2008 http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/20/stories/2008112057012200.htm
Uttaramerur http://reachhistory.blogspot.in/2006/12/uttaramerur.html
Uttaramerur model of democracy The Hindu Chennai March 13, 2010 http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/uttaramerur-model-of-democracy/article243997.ece
Village Administration in Ancient India by Shriram Yerankar http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/41855799?uid=3738256&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21104509300513
வியக்க வைக்கும் சோழர்களின் தேர்தலும், ஆட்சி முறையும் http://www.mayyam.com/talk/showthread.php?10963-%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%AF%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95-%E0%AE%B5%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D-%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%8B%E0%AE%B4%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%B3%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%A9%E0%AF%8D-%E0%AE%A4%E0%AF%87%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D-%E0%AE%86%E0%AE%9F
Source-Sunday, July 20, 2014http://know-your-heritage.blogspot.in/2014/07/ uthiramerur-inscriptions-on-chola.html

Tamilnadu attracts less than 1% of investments in India

The effects of Lack of Leadership and rampant, mindless, fanciful activism are starting to have its logical effect on the ground. 

Tamilnadu attracts less than 1% of investments in India

Source - Sivakumar.B@timesgroup.com

Chennai: Tamil Nadu received less than 1% of the ₹3.95 lakh crore investments attracted by various states across the country in the year 2017. In what could be seen as a reflection of the prevailing political stalemate, it drew a mere ₹3,131 crore, or less than 1% (0.8%) of the total investments in the country, through 62 proposals last year.

While the share of investments attracted by Tamil Nadu has been on a downhill since 2015, it has been increasing in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat and Maharashtra, according to data compiled by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Union ministry of commerce & industry. The data shows India received 1,972 investment proposals worth ₹3.95 lakh crore across all states and Union Territories in 2017.

While the data has highlighted the stark reality, the state government has been boasting that investments into the state have been normal. Industries minister M C Sampath claimed in November 2017 that the state continued to attract new investments, given its supply of skilled labour and developed infrastructure.

“Companies like Ford and Hyundai were expanding their investments in the state. Swedish furniture giant IKEA was looking at Tamil Nadu to set up its manufacturing unit,” said Sampath, at a CII Connect 2017 event. He reiterated this even in the state legislative assembly that the state was wooing more investments.

As per the DIPP data, Karnataka led the states by receiving a maximum number of 194 proposals and resulting in investments to the tune of ₹1.52 lakh crore. A bulk of investments attracted by Karnataka was in the IT/ITES sector.

“The main reason for Tamil Nadu not being able to woo investments is the political situation, especially after the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

“Our state lost opportunities, especially from Kia Motors (which has broken ground in Andhra Pradesh), as the local government was in a limbo,” said CII-Tamil Nadu chairman P Ravichandran.

But Ravichandran is confident of investments increasing in Tamil Nadu in the coming period. “The investment situation is likely to improve with the state government passing the Business Facilitation Act. In the next six months, we can see more investments happening in the state,” said Ravichandran.

Apart from blaming the political situation, financial analysts lamented that the state did not have a proper industrial policy. “It is shocking to know that an industrial state like Tamil Nadu has received less than 1% of the total investments. The data shows what the public believe that nothing is happening with the present government,” said financial analyst and DMK legislator P T R Thyagarajan.

The urgent need for improving the investment situation in the state is to usher in transparency in the working of the government, he said. “There must be a proper land acquisition policy, tax policy and the creation of infrastructure facilities for the companies interested in investing in Tamil Nadu,” said Thyagarajan.

First English-Tamil glossary launched in Singapore

First English-Tamil glossary launched in Singapore

Singapore, Feb 4 - A first-of-its-kind English-Tamil glossary with over 4,000 common English terms and their corresponding Tamil words has been launched in Singapore to help translate public communication materials to the Indian language.

Tamil is Singapore's fourth official language along with English, Chinese and Malay.

The 200-page glossary contains a glossary in alphabetical order, a compilation of names of government organisations, as well as lists of educational terms and titles of statutes, The Sunday Times reported.

The glossary was produced by the Tamil Resource Panel under the National Translation Committee (NTC) in collaboration with the Tamil Language Council, the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) said in a statement yesterday.

It aims to be a guide for the practitioners of the Tamil language, including the media, teachers, students and government agencies who need to translate public communication materials to the Tamil language.

The NTC has also identified a list of experienced translators and vetters for government agencies to tap to improve vetting of Tamil translations.

In his speech at the launch of the glossary at The Indian Heritage Centre, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Chee Hong Tat said government agencies have not been consistent when tapping a list of experienced Tamil translators and vetters.

"Some have implemented it well, others I suspect, pay lip service and just go through (the) motion," Chee was quoted as saying by the Times.

"I had to knock some heads over the past year, something which I did not particularly enjoy doing, but until we see consistent improvement across the public sector, we have no choice but to continue enforcing the standards to hold agencies accountable for the quality of their translations."

Last year, pamphlets used in National Day Parade rehearsals contained errors in Tamil translation.

Following that, Minister Ng Eng Hen had told Parliament in August that the original Tamil translation submitted was correct but errors were made by the printers. 

The 200-page glossary is available at www.tamil.org.sg in PDF format and contains a glossary in alphabetical order, a compilation of names of government organisations, as well as lists of educational terms and titles of statutes.

Gus Dalton-How a Newfoundland fisherman became godfather to a generation of Tamil-Canadians

Siva Mehanathan, left to right, Suhapiramam Annalingam, Baskaran Nadarajah and Puvanendran Shanmuga sit in front of the Coast Guard ship Leonard J Cowley in St. John’s, Newfoundland on Aug. 11, 2016. (Paul Daly/CP)

After three days of drifting in a crammed lifeboat in the middle of the Atlantic, Siva Mehanathan was on the brink of despair. The 22-year-old Tamil rice farmer clutched a small picture of two Hindu gods and prayed as the lifeboat bobbed in the inky water. “I thought, ‘We’re gonna die here,’ ” says Mehanathan, who had chosen to leave war-torn Sri Lanka for a better life in the West. “That’s what I was thinking to myself, but I don’t tell anybody.”

It was Aug. 11, 1986, and Mehanathan was among 155 Tamil refugees dumped by human traffickers in two lifeboats from a German merchant ship 300 km off the coast of Newfoundland, in an area locals consider the graveyard of the Atlantic.

The sea was calm and shrouded with fog that August morning as captain Gus Dalton set off from Admirals Beach in St. Mary’s Bay in southeast Newfoundland aboard his fishing trawler, the Atlantic Reaper. He and his men had been fishing for cod all day when Dalton spotted the lifeboats full of people waving frantically in the distance, about 10 km off the fishing port of St. Shott’s.

What he did next would alter the course of Canadian immigration history and forge a bond between himself and thousands of Tamil-Canadians for generations to come.

Dalton, a third-generation Irish immigrant from a family of lighthouse keepers and fishermen on Great Colinet Island (which was resettled in 1960), quickly began to strategize and put his seamanship skills to work.

In his thick brogue, Dalton ordered his fishermen to dump their catch to make room on the boat. He radioed other fishermen for assistance and called the Canadian Coast Guard. He tied the lifeboats to either side of his vessel so it wouldn’t tip and began taking on women, children and the sick. Other fishermen also arrived to help, including Dalton’s brother, Alban.

At the time, the rescue garnered international headlines, including a story in the New York Times and a front-page story in this magazine, and today the rescue is celebrated as a remarkable moment in Canadian history. But the refugees’ arrival wasn’t without controversy. They changed their story about where they had sailed from—first it was Asia, but it was later discovered it had been from Germany. 

The newcomers faced social stigma, which added to their struggle to settle in a new country, says Gary Anandasangaree, a Tamil-Canadian and the MP for Scarborough-Rouge Park, who recalled Tamils being heckled at the employment office and bullied in the schoolyard.

But while imperfect, it was the spark that led to large numbers of Tamils arriving in Canada. Today they are a population of 300,000, concentrated in Toronto and Montreal. “In the ’80s and ’90s, Tamils represented one of the top groups to arrive in Canada, both as sponsored family members and as refugees,” says Anandasangaree.

Radar on Gus Dalton’s Atlantic Reaper first spotted Sri Lankan refugees floating on lifeboats. (Doug Griffin/Toronto Star/Getty Images)

Early last month, Dalton received word he would be formally recognized by the Queen. He was getting a Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal, which recognizes Canadians for exceptional deeds that bring honour to the country. Dalton didn’t get a chance to receive it in person. He died Jan. 15 at age 87.

The Canadian Tamil Congress issued a tribute, calling Dalton a “true Canadian hero,” adding that his “legacy will always be intertwined with Tamil-Canadian history.” (One of the lifeboats has been obtained by the group and is displayed at the annual Tamil-Canadian festival in Scarborough.)

Anandasangaree added his voice to the chorus of online condolences: “With his deed, he helped 155 families take shape in Canada, and helped the Tamil community in ways that no one ever has,” he wrote on Facebook.

While life has gone on for Mehanathan—he owns a jewelry shop in Scarborough and has three children—Dalton’s harrowing rescue has never been forgotten and is a well-known parable in his household.

His daughter Ommira, a 19-year-old Trent University student, recalls it as a lesson in faith: “As soon as he saw Gus, he said, ‘God has seen me pray. He’s blessed me with this miracle right now.’ He has always taught us as kids to stay hopeful and be faithful to God as well,” she says.

Over the years, Ommira and her parents went to meet Dalton twice—once for the 25th anniversary of the rescue and again in August 2016 for the 30th reunion. “It felt like they were old friends meeting up,” Ommira says, adding that both men were crying. “The first thing my dad said was, ‘Thank you,’ and Gus gave my dad a hug. He was speechless. There was so much going on that he just gave my dad a hug, which is a really sweet way to accept a thank you.”

At Dalton’s funeral on Jan. 20, more than 400 people packed the small white church perched over the bay in Admirals Beach—triple the number of people who live in the tiny fishing port. Mehanathan sat in the fourth row, weeping as Dalton’s loved ones shared stories of the mild-mannered fisherman’s lifelong kindness and magnanimity.

“It was hurting my heart that this guy is gone,” says Mehanathan. “He was my godfather. If he didn’t see us, then we wouldn’t have had a second chance at life. He gave it to us.”

Founder of HiGopi, Gopalakrishnan from Dharmapuri, is no more

Founder of HiGopi, whose code lets us type in Tamil online, passes away

Gopalakrishnan, alias Thagadoor Gopi, passed away on 27th Jan 2018, after suffering a cardiac arrest in Hyderabad. Today, we can type in several languages – Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Gujarati and Punjabi, among others – on our phones and computers, all thanks to Gopi. 

If you sat down to count Gopapalakrishnan’s achievements, you’d be at the task for quite some time. The 42-year-old had worked at notable software companies in India and abroad, and contributed to developing various technologies.

But what he will be remembered for most is that he gave the world the Unicode to convert English into Tamil fonts, and those of various other regional Indian languages.

Gopalakrishnan, alias Thagadoor Gopi, passed away on Saturday after suffering a cardiac arrest in Hyderabad.

Contribution to Tamil computing

Today, we can type in several languages – Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Gujarati and Punjabi, among others – on our phones and computers, all thanks to Gopi.

A Dharmapuri native, he was also the first person to come up with a universal code which allowed for English to be transliterated into other Indian languages.

This Unicode facilitated the transliteration of English fonts into more than nine languages – Gopi designed and coded the characters of each word for the regional languages.

His website HiGopi.com also had multiple open-source software developed by him, which made it easier for people to transliterate English to Tamil online using the ‘Adhiyaman Converter’. At a time where paywalls are becoming a norm, Gopi was an advocate for open-sourcing too.

Public service

Gopi was involved in taking Tamil and computing to the poor. IAS officer Sangayam recalled Gopi’s contribution to a project ‘Thodu Vaanam’ when he was collector of Namakkal.

Through Thodu Vaanam, Gopi taught Tamil to underprivileged students in the district. He even took the project to Madurai when Sangayam was transferred there.

Calling Gopi’s demise a “great loss to Tamil computing”, Sangayam added that Gopi placed a lot of faith in his district of Dharmapuri. He was also fascinated with ‘King Adhiyaman’ (a royal dynasty that ruled from Tagadur, present day Dharmapuri) and added ‘Adhiyaman’ to the names of his projects.

Personal life

There isn’t much written about Gopi in the public domain. His father, Thanikachalam, is a retired teacher and his mother, Thokayarkarasi, used to work as a bank employee.

His interest in Tamil and coding went back over a decade – it was his friend Seenu who encouraged him to take it up in 2004. With over 15 years of technical experience, Gopi was working in Hyderabad.

Gopi is survived by his wife and two children, aged six and two respectively. His body was brought to Dharmapuri on Monday, and his remains were buried in Kumarasamipettai, his hometown.

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/founder-higopi-whose-code-lets-us-type-tamil-online-passes-away-75660

Long-lost continent found submerged under Indian Ocean in Mauritius

Long-lost continent found submerged under Indian Ocean in Mauritius

Updated: Feb 01, 2017 15:49 IST
PTI, Johannesburg

Mauritius sits on part of an ancient continent.

cientists have confirmed the existence of a “lost continent” under the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius that was left-over by the break-up of the supercontinent, Gondwana, which started about 200 million years ago.

The piece of crust, which was subsequently covered by young lava during volcanic eruptions on the island, seems to be a tiny piece of ancient continent, which broke off from the island of Madagascar, when Africa, India, Australia and Antarctica split up and formed the Indian Ocean.

“We are studying the break-up process of the continents, in order to understand the geological history of the planet,” said Professor Lewis Ashwal from University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

By studying the mineral, zircon, found in rocks spewed up by lava during volcanic eruptions, Ashwal and his colleagues have found that remnants of this mineral were far too old to belong on the island of Mauritius.

“Earth is made up of two parts - continents, which are old, and oceans, which are young. On the continents you find rocks that are over four billion years old, but you find nothing like that in the oceans, as this is where new rocks are formed,” said Ashwal.

“Mauritius is an island, and there is no rock older than nine million years old on the island. However, by studying the rocks on the island, we have found zircons that are as old as three billion years,” he said.

Zircons are minerals that occur mainly in granites from the continents. They contain trace amounts of uranium, thorium and lead, and due to the fact that they survive geological process very well, they contain a rich record of geological processes and can be dated extremely accurately.

“The fact that we have found zircons of this age proves that there are much older crustal materials under Mauritius that could only have originated from a continent,” said Ashwal.

This is not the first time that zircons that are billions of years old have been found on the island. A study done in 2013 has found traces of the mineral in beach sand.

However, this study received some criticism, including that the mineral could have been either blown in by the wind, or carried in on vehicle tyres or scientists’ shoes.

“The fact that we found the ancient zircons in rock (six-million-year-old trachyte), corroborates the previous study and refutes any suggestion of wind-blown, wave-transported or pumice-rafted zircons for explaining the earlier results,” said Ashwal.

Ashwal suggests that there are many pieces of various sizes of “undiscovered continent”, collectively called “Mauritia”, spread over the Indian Ocean, left over by the breakup of Gondwanaland.

“According to the new results, this break-up did not involve a simple splitting of the ancient super-continent of Gondwana, but rather, a complex splintering took place with fragments of continental crust of variable sizes left adrift within the evolving Indian Ocean basin,” Ashwal added.

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/long-lost-continent-found-submerged-under-indian-ocean-in-mauritius/story-6914LfmiRKxJz6cFHTR7jN.html#a-5d499286-63e2-4738-959a-4d1f10e67829

LTTE chief Prabhakaran’s deputy was a RAW agent, claims journalist in new book

LTTE chief Prabhakaran’s deputy was a RAW agent, claims journalist in new book
"The man was cultivated and positioned by RAW as their mole inside Prabharkaran's hitherto impenetrable ranks as early as 1989"

IANS| Monday, August 15, 2016 - 14:59 http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/ltte-chief-prabhakarans-deputy-was-raw-agent-claims-journalist-new-book-48250




An LTTE leader who was once a deputy to its supreme leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was a RAW agent, recruited as early as 1989, claims journalist Neena Gopal in her book “The Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi”.

Neena Gopal, who interviewed former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi moments before he was assassinated in 1991, says that Gopalaswamy Mahendrarajah alias Mahattaya was a Research and Analysis Wing mole.

"The man was cultivated and positioned by RAW as their mole inside Prabharkaran's hitherto impenetrable ranks as early as 1989," she says in her book.

"He would become their deep asset, the one who would subvert the insurgent movement from the inside, and had been tasked to eliminate Prabhakaran and take over the LTTE," she writes.

RAW's links with Mahattaya, who the LTTE later executed on charges of being an Indian intelligence agent, was not known to the Indian Military Intelligence or the Intelligence Bureau, it says.

The LTTE reportedly suspected that it was Mahattaya who tipped off the Indians about a Tamil Tiger ship in January 1993, leading to the death of former Jaffna LTTE commander Kittu, a childhood friend of Prabhakaran.

According to the book, Mahattaya was reportedly seized by the LTTE and taken to a camp where he was "tortured” over a period of several weeks and months until he could barely speak, sit or stand.

"He was finally executed in December 1994, 19 months (later). Some 257 of his men were executed and their bodies dumped, LTTE style, in a pit and set on fire."

Despite the RAW's covert penetration of the LTTE, the Indian military, civilian intelligence and its diplomats worked at cross-purposes when the Indian military was deployed in Sri Lanka's northeast in 1987-90, the book says.

The Sri Lankan military finally crushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009, leaving thousands dead in the final months of a brutal conflict that began some 30 years earlier.

The book also suggests that the RAW -- which like other Indian institutions felt betrayed after Prabhakaran ordered Gandhi's killing -- may have had a hand in the LTTE chief's elimination.

"RAW sources say that until the very last minute, Prabhakaran was tricked into believing that a surrender (by him and his men in 2009) was a viable option, and that he would be handed over to a neutral international group and not the Sri Lankan government as Colombo wanted."

The RAW's ability to cultivate assets in the LTTE was one reason for its overconfidence vis-a-vis the Tigers.

Accordingly, the agency failed to factor that the LTTE leader would avenge the fighting against the Indian military in Sri Lanka by targeting Rajiv Gandhi one day.

Neena Gopal quotes a senior RAW officer as saying: "If we had read the signals right, if we understood what was going on in Prabhakaran's mind, who knows, we could have prevented this.

"It was our fault, we made a huge error of judgement. We misread Prabhakaran. We never believed he would turn against us in this manner. We should have seen it coming. We didn't.

"We failed Rajiv Gandhi, we failed to save his life."

The author had been interviewing Gandhi until he reached the election rally ground at Sriperumpudur near Chennai on the night of May 21, 1991. A little later, Gandhi was killed by an LTTE woman suicide bomber.