Appalled by the deep fall in moral values among the young generation, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday gave a directive to the Tamil Nadu Government to make Thirukural, the classic Tamil Sangam literature of 1,330 couplets, part of school syllabus and also make sure the students learn the work in depth.
The order was issued by Justice R Mahadevan on a writ petition filed by S Rajarathinam, a 70-year-old retired Commercial Taxes Officer from Thoothukudi, seeking a direction to the Government to introduce Thirukural as a separate subject from class VI to XII, rather than restricting it to being a part of Tamil textbooks.
Rajarathinam, in his petition has stated that ‘it was disturbing to witness a decline in moral values in society in recent times, especially because the youngsters lacked decency, respect for others, politeness and other moral values’.
He also pointed out to increase in domestic disputes and mushrooming of old age homes.
Quoting official records, the petitioner pointed out that 2,083 juveniles had been arrested by the Tamil Nadu police in 2011 for alleged involvement in criminal activities. “Out of this 1,170 were pursuing primary education, 617 were in middle and higher secondary classes, 56 had completed higher secondary and 240 were illiterates”.
He submitted that there was a need for correction of such a trend in society. “One way of bringing about this change is by making them follow the principles in Thirukural. The philosophies propounded in it are idealistic in nature and are relevant to all people irrespective of culture, religion, nationalities and the like,” he added.
Justice Mahadevan said in his directive that he fully agreed with the petitioner. “Thirukural is a classic literature that talks about statecraft, ethics, importance of cultivating moral values and almost everything that human beings would require to lead a peaceful life. There is a need for students to learn Thirukural in detail,” said the judge.
Though the petitioner had included only the secretary, Tamil Development Department as a party to the case, the judge issued orders to include director, school education too as a respondent and marked the copy of the directive to him also.
Subramaniam Swamy, MP, welcomed the court directive and said it was a long due step. “Thirukural is the Tamil equivalent to Chanakya’s Arth Sasthra and students should be given exposure to it from school itself,” Swamy told The Pioneer. He pointed out that it was strange that though students are familiar with the works of Shakespeare, Chaucer and even Tolstoy, schools in Tamil Nadu has not included Thirukural in the syllabus.