New Delhi: A Parliamentary delegation of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), constituents of ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), on May 8 met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and urged him to declare Tamil an official and a classical language of the country.

The delegation, led by senior DMK leader and Union Environment Minister T R Baalu, said in a memorandum handed over to the Prime Minister that though the people of Tamil Nadu have been demanding for long that Tamil be declared a classical and an official language, successive governments at the Centre had paid little heed to the demand.

"Countries like Singapore, Sri Lanka and Malaysia have accepted Tamil as the language of the government. Nurturing other languages is not sowing the seeds of the disunity. Rather, it binds the government and the people," they said.

"If we have to understand Europe through language, it is necessary to know Greek, Latin and Hebrew. Similarly, to comprehend India in all its literary and cultural traditions, knowledge of Tamil and Sanskrit is an absolute necessity. All the Indian languages are off-springs of these two ancient languages," they said, demanding that 2003 be declared as "Tamil Language Year".

PTI