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Puthandu

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Puthandu
Observed byTamils
TypeFestival, Tamil Nadu, India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore
SignificanceTamil New Year,
CelebrationsFeasting, gift-giving, visiting homes
DateFirst day of Chitterai in the Tamil calendar

Template:IndicText

Tamil is written in a non-Latin script. Tamil text used in this article is transliterated into the Latin script according to the ISO 15919 standard.

Puthandu (Template:Lang-ta), or better known as Tamil New Year, is the celebration of the first day of the Tamil new year in mid-April by Tamils in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in India, in Sri Lanka and by the Tamil population in Malaysia, Singapore, Réunion and Mauritius. On this day, Tamil people greet each other by saying "Puthandu Vazthukal" (புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துகள்) or "Iniya Tamizh Puthandu Nalvaazhthukal" (இனிய தமிழ்ப் புத்தாண்டு நல்வாழ்த்துகள்). The festive occasion is in keeping with the Hindu solar calendar.

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Controversy

The previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Government of Tamil Nadu had declared in 2008 that the Tamil new year should be celebrated on the first day of Tamil month of Thai (14 January) coinciding with the harvest festival of Pongal. The Tamil Nadu New Year (Declaration Bill 2008) was introduced in the House by the Tamil Nadu Government on 29 January 2008.[1] This bill of the DMK Administration was subsequently rescinded by a separate act of legislation in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on 23 August 2011.[2][3][4][5]

The earlier legislative enactment of the DMK government was not without controversy .[6] The resolution was met with resistance.[7][8][9] It was challenged in court.[10][11] The then opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) in Tamil Nadu subsequently condemned the decision of the DMK Government in that state and urged their supporters to continue celebrating the traditional date in mid-April.[12] Tamils in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and Canada continued to observe the new year in mid-April.[13][14][15][16][17] Many in Tamil Nadu continued the celebration of the new year in mid-April.[18][19] The Governor and Chief Minister of the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry, which has an ethnic Tamil majority, felicitated the public for the Tamil new year in April 2010.[20] The previous state government in Tamil Nadu in an effort to accommodate popular sentiment conceded the celebration of the April new year with a new term called “Chithirai Tirunal” (the festival of Chithirai). The day remained a public holiday in Tamil Nadu albeit purportedly to commemorate Dr. B.R Ambedkar, who was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Indian Constitution. All television channels in Tamil Nadu continued to telecast festive “Chithirai Tirunal Special Programmes” on 14 April 2010. The leader of the AIADMK, Jayalalitha felicitated the people on the traditional Tamil New Year. The MDMK leader Vaiko, followed suit.[21] Press reports indicated that the people in Tamil Nadu celebrated the Tamil New Year with enthusiasm and thronged the temples in thousands. There are others who highlight the absence of historical and literary evidence for the change in new year.[22] The 2008 legislation of the previous DMK-led administration has since been annulled by an act of the Tamil Nadu Assembly in August, 2011.[23]The controversy has now subsided and the official celebrations during the traditional new year in April revived. [24][25][26][27]

Tiruvalluvar Era

The 2006–2011 Government in Tamil Nadu also introduced the Tiruvalluvar era that begins with the purported birth of the Tamil literary figure Tiruvalluvar in the year 31 BCE. The literary evidence however may not indicate an early date for Tiruvalluvar. The syntax and grammar may indicate a subsequent date. Renowned Tamil Scholar Vaiyapuri Pillai was of the view that Tiruvalluvar lived around 600 CE, based on the internal evidence of his work and the significant influence of Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali works in the Tirukkural.[28] While not all may agree with Vaiyapuri Pillai's textual criticism and dating, several question the Tiruvalluvar era on the issue of its date.[29] However, the Government of J. Jayalalitha in 2011 reverted the celebration of Puthandu to the original date of fourteenth of April.[4]

See also

  1. Sinhalese New Year Officially Sinhala and Tamil New Year, Sri Lanka
  2. Songkran – Thai New Year is celebrated on the same day as well. (Chola Dynasty ruled Thai during Rajendra Chola I's reign 1012 C.E. – 1044 C.E)
  3. Pohela Boishakh – Bengali New Year (India's West Bengal and Tripura state and Bangladesh)
  4. Assamese New Year or Rongali Bihu (India's Assam state)
  5. Malayali New Year, or Vishu (India's Kerala state)
  6. Nepali New Year, or Bikram Samwat / Vaishak Ek (Nepal)
  7. Vishuva Sankranti-Oriya New Year (India's Odisha state)
  8. Maithili New Year
  9. Khmer New Year, or Chol Chnam Thmey (Cambodia)
  10. Lao New Year, or Songkan / Pi Mai Lao (Laos)
  11. Tuluva New Year, or Bisu (India's Karnataka state)
  12. Burmese New Year, or Thingyan (Burma)

References

  1. ^ "Bill on new Tamil New Year Day is passed unanimously". Tn.gov.in. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  2. ^ "Jaya changes DMK's calendar, Tamil new year in April now". The Indian Express. India. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  3. ^ 24 August 2011 DC chennai (24 August 2011). "Jaya reverses Karunanidhi's order; Tamil New Year on Chithirai 1". Deccan Chronicle. India. Retrieved 18 October 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b Special Correspondent (23 August 2011). "States / Tamil Nadu : Tamil New Year in Chithirai". The Hindu. India. Retrieved 18 October 2011. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ "News Today – An English evening daily published from Chennai". Newstodaynet.com. 23 August 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  6. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  7. ^ "India E-news". India E-news. 13 April 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  8. ^ "SINHALAYA'S FULL COVERAGE – Lankan Tamils reject Karunanidhi's diktat on Tamil New Year – CyberTalks". Sinhalaya.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  9. ^ M.R. Venkatesh (13 April 2008). "The Telegraph – Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | TN bans new year rites, priests fume". The Telegraph. Kolkota, India. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  10. ^ "Law altering Tamil new year day challenged". Sindh Today. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Court asks Tamil Nadu why change age-old New Year date". Bombay News.Net. 12 September 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Jaya, Vaiko greet people, criticise change of New Year". News.webindia123.com. 12 April 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  13. ^ "14.04.08 Liberate Calendar". TamilNet. 14 April 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  14. ^ "13.04.08 Tamil New Year". TamilNet. 13 April 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  15. ^ "12.04.08 Prime Minister of Canada greets Tamil New Year". TamilNet. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  16. ^ [2][dead link‍]
  17. ^ "Sri Lankan Sinhalese And Tamil Community Celebrate Traditional New Year Tomorrow". GroundReport. 13 April 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  18. ^ "Tamils ignore government fiat, celebrate New Year – Thaindian News". Thaindian.com. 13 April 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  19. ^ "Tamil new year celebrated in UT [newkerala.com, The Netherlands, 89374]". Newkerala.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  20. ^ "Pondy Governor, CM greet people on eve of Tamil New Year [newkerala.com, The Netherlands, 89118]". Newkerala.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  21. ^ Sathyalaya Ramakrishnan reporting from Chennai (14 April 2010). "TN Governor and leaders greets people on Tamil NewYear". Asian Tribune. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  22. ^ "A Tamil cultural debate". Sri Lanka Guardian. 22 September 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  23. ^ "23.08.11 Tamil Nadu Assembly restores April New Year". TamilNet. 23 August 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  24. ^ http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=759496
  25. ^ "Law on Tamil New Year was enacted for publicity, says Jayalalithaa". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 14 April 2012.
  26. ^ http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130415/news-current-affairs/article/tamil-year-vijaya-ushered-religious-fervour
  27. ^ http://www.newkerala.com/news/story/6870/jaya-to-present-tamil-awards-on-apr-15.html
  28. ^ Vaiyapuri Pillai, History of the Tamil Language and Literature, 1956, pages 79–88
  29. ^ "Vijayvaani.com". Vijayvaani.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
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