Neelambikai Ammaiyar – Champion of Tamil Nationalism
Dhamu Source: Dhamu
Having mastered many Indian languages and English, Neelambikai Ammaiyar (1903 – 1945) wrote several books in Tamil, including the biographies of Queen Victoria and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Arguing that Tamil society is fundamentally matriarchal, she emphasised that Sanskrit and Hindi represent the Brahminic-patriarchal hegemony. She advocated that Western education is essential to the liberation of Tamil women against Hindu-Hindi patriarchy. With her Tani Tamizh Iyakkam (Independent Tamil Movement), she promoted Tamil nationalism and expressed a strong belief that modern Tamil women should emulate the female poets of the Sangam era such as Auvaiyar, Kakkai Pattiniyar, Ponmudiyar, Vellividiyar and others. Dr Dhamu Pongiyannan presents this week’s Thamil Thadam.
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