During the period commencing May 1998 and
ending June 2001,
tamilnation.org
invited nominations to a list of 100 Tamils
of the 20th Century- Tamils who had made
significant contributions to the world and
to Tamil togetherness, whether such
contributions were in scientific thought,
literature, political action, personal
sacrifice and example, or spirituality.
More than 200 names were suggested and they
appear in the column on the left, in
alphabetical order, within the separate
categories:
History & Social Science
| Language & Literature |
Politics & Society |
Struggle for Tamil Eelam |
Music,
Dance & Drama | Art & Sculpture |
Spirituality | Science &
Education | Entrepreneurs |
Sport &
Recreation.
A discussion on "Who is a
Tamil and also Criteria for Selection"
appears here. M. Thanapalasingham,
from Australia, commented in August
1999:
"The search for 100
Tamils has produced an interesting array of
nominations from varying fields of
endeavour, ranging from science to the
arts, to freedom fighters and
philanthropists. How does one pick the most
"deserving" of the honour? How does one use
objective measures without the intrusion of
subjective judgement? What criteria does
one stipulate? Some that come to mind
are:
Tamils who have made a
positive contribution:
* the worth of which
transcends time. Some may question this
too.
* that involves personal sacrifice beyond
measure
* towards a Tamil "Renaissance"
(marumalarchi) in the arts, cultures
etc.
* by directing the 'history' of the
Tamils towards freedom and justice for
all Tamils?
* by protecting our identities and
preserving it for future
generations
It is inevitable that
the relative worth of each of these
criteria would vary enormously, depending
on the subjective judgement of the
observer. Who is to decide the relative
merit of the Tamil scientist and the Tamil
poet? Who are the true "greats" and who are
the merely "distinguished? Is it really
necessary to pick and choose? It may be
sufficient to recognise and let it
rest..."
tamilnation.org
respectfully agrees with Thanapalasingham's
views and concludes that
"it may be
sufficient to recognise and let it
rest..."
|
From: Rajeev Prabhakaran, Director
(Corporate Planning), Callista Group of Companies,12
February 2005
I would like to nominate Dr.M.Natarajan for
listing under the 'politics and society'
section. Dr.Natarajan is a visionary leader,
author and publisher of various path breaking
books. His service to society has been
invaluable right from his youth where he led
anti hindi agitations in the state . He has
been consistently trying to help tamil society
in many ways.His details are available on his
website www.m-natarajan.com .
Kindly review the same and you will agree that
he definitely deserves a place in the list of
100 greatest Tamils.
From: Visagaperumal Vasanthan , 27 September
2004
Your nominations to One Hundred Tamils
of the 20th Century missed one important
person. Mr
Ramalingam Muttiah was the father of Tamil
Typewriter who hailed from Chundikuli, Jaffna
and lived in Malaysia until his death in 1959.
He designed and produced first Tamil typewriter
which was commercially distributed. His
contribution to Tamil was timely and
important.
From: [email protected] , 21 May 2004
Please note that Mahesh
Bhupathi is from Andra, and is not a Tamil. In
his place I would like to nominate Sonya Jayaseelan, former
world ranked women Tennis player. She has also
the distinction of representing Canada in the
last Olympic games.
From: Lloyd
Young, USA 3 May
2001
I would like to nominate Dr. Kingsley Sathiakumar
as one of the 100 Tamils of the 20th Century in
the field of Science and Education. A native of
Madras (Chennai), Dr. Sathiakumar is currently
employed as an expert in Bio Terrorism and
Weapons of Mass Destruction by the Jefferson
County Department of Public Health in Birmingham,
Alabama, United States of America. He has
lectured at numerous conferences as well as
admirably performing his duties as a Public
Health Representative. He has established a
reputation for expertise, efficiency, and honesty
throughout the public health system and
throughout Alabama. Dr. Sathiakumar is also
well-liked and respected by his colleagues and
co-workers because of his professionalism,
willingness to help others, and his sense of
humor. He is a credit to the people of India and
to all Tamils everywhere and I feel privileged to
count him among my friends.
From: Radha
Nagaratnam,USA,15 April 2001
I would like to nominate
Yalpanam
N. Veeramani Iyer to the Music section.
Unfortunately I am only familiar with two of his
compositions in Carnatic music. They are "Ennadi
Pechhu Sakhiye'' and "Karpagavalli'' (made famous
by Pithu Kuli Murgadas). I am sure there are many
other such wonderful compositions. I hope you
will be able to find them and include them in the
write up about this wonderful Tamil Eelam
citizen.
From: Soma
USA, 7 April
2001
I would like to nominate
A.R Rahman as one of the one
hundred Tamils. There is no
Tamil now that does not know him. He brought
Tamil music to the attention of the North Indians
and also recently to the world. He is a very
humble and pious Muslim and donates generously to
charitable causes. Through his music, AR Rahman
has captured millions of hearts. Thanks to him,
more people know the existence of
Tamil.
From: C.R.
Selvakumar, Canada, 7 April
2001
vaNakkam.I would like to nominate [அருள்மிகு
பங்காரு
அடிகள்]
aruLmigu bangaaru adikaL of MelmaruvaththUr, near
Chennai, India in the category of Spirituality.
Undoubtedly, his movement is one of the most
popular in recent times and the service rendered
by his organization in the area of health and
education are enormous, apart from spiritual
guidance. Under his guidance all the worship is
in Tamil and the role played by women in worship
rituals is unprecedented. These are all unique. I
would urge you to include him in the list.
In the category of literature, I believe P.L Samy and irA.
iLankumaran would richly deserve a place. P.L.
Samy was one of the most substantial contributors
and among his contributions his three books in
Tamil ('sanga ilakkiyaththil paRavai ina
viaLakkam, sanga ilakkiyaththil vilangkina
viaLakkam, sanga ilakkiyaththil nilaththiNai
viLakkam', published by South India Saiva
Siddhanta Publications, TTK Salai, Chennai) were
highly regarded and were seminal publications.
Among the literary writers, I can't think of a
better one than thiru irA iLankumaran. Thiru
iLankumaran's contributions about thirukkuRaL,
tholkAppiyam and his compilations of 'iNaiccol
akarAthi' etc. are exemplary works.
Under the category of Art and
Sculpture,
C.N. Vasudevan would richly deserve a place.
He was with Rabindranath Tagore but left his
group and established as a great true artist in
Tamil Nadu. He lived in kongu naadu (near Anai
Malai in Coimbatore, TN ). His paintings,
sculptures, leather work, poems (in English and
Tamil), his music, dance, political satire were
unmatched as far as I know. Some of his works are
with ThanjavUr Tamil University. He was fondly
known to thousands of his admirers as vAsaNNaa.
In the area of Music and dance,
the great mirudanga maestro Palani
Subramaniam and VazhuvUr
Ramiah PiLLai and his daughter, one of the
greatest dancers, SarOja richly
deserve to be included. While I am surprised by
the inclusion of some violinists and musicians, I
find it odd that such greats as Madurai Mani Iyer, Lalgudi Jayaraman, T.N.Krishnan, Rajamanikkam piLLai (and many
others) are not included. In dance Alarmel vaLLi is
next only to Balasaraswathi and Saroja, in my
view.
Among musicologists TAS Sambandamoorthy is unique. He was
held in such high esteem by Rajaratam PiLLai and
others. He fought brilliantly the illogical 72
melakarta raga system, but because of the backing
of the establishment for the sanskrit-based
Venkatamahi's work, his valid arguments did not
gain currency (inspite of the initial support of
such heavy weights like Semmangudi Srinivasa
Iyer, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Chittur
Subramania PiLLai). TAS Sambandamoorthy also
contributed beautiful Tamil compositions, which
were praised by Rajaratnam PiLLai and others.
From: Amuthan Selvarajoo ,
Malaysia.27 March
2001
I would like to nominate ( Tan
Sri ) T.Ananda Krishnan of
Malaysia for the Entrepreneurs category.
Krishnan, 59, earned a Harvard M.B.A.; He is a
Tamil whose wholly owned Usaha Tegas has
investments ranging from sweepstakes to power
generation. His property company KLCC Holdings,
has built the world's tallest building, Kuala
Lumpur's Petronas Twin Towers. With a net worth
of $4,100 million, he is the richest ethnic
Tamil on Earth.
From: Selvam Kanniah, 25 March 2001
I propose to nominate Prof. Dr. M. Thambirajah who is a
well known History Professor in Malaysia. His
book is a standard reference for secondary school
history in Malaysia. He is also the
founder of Sri Murugan Center Malaysia
- a non-profit organization providing academic
and spiritual related service for Malaysian
Indians.
From: Samuel Sebastien, Canada,
26 February 2001
I would nominate Guna
of Bangalore. He is one of the most popular
Tamil writer and scholar.
From: Ashok
Jagannathan, 26 February 2001
Despite
being an Indian Tamil I would like to
nominate Mr.V.Prabhakaran.
as the man of the century.
Prabhakaran is striving to achieve a goal which
is the only target in his life. He has devoted
and dedicated his life to achieve this goal. He
has also proved that he is a leader who has
determination and tenacity and he has also
confronted a great deal of criticism
on several occasions. He has
also displayed that he has the capacity to
establish a fully fledged military force.
I would also
like to nominate all the Black tigers who have
buried in unmarked graves. I would also like to
nominate Vaiko
From: P.Pichaikkannu, Muscat,
Sultanate of Oman 10 February
2001
I would like to
nominate Dr. Manickam, M.A. M.Litt, Ph.D -a Tamil
scholar and a poet. He was the first one to
receive his doctorate in Tamil from Usmaniya
University, Hyderabad. He retired as professor
and head of the Tamil department of Usmania
university. He is the founder of the Kamban
Kazhakam in Hyderabad/Secunderabad. He wrote many
research articles and books and he is a natural
poet in Tamil.
From: Ramanathan S.P, 6
January 2001
I feel the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,
our beloved, Dr.Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi
(Politics& Society, Tamil Literature) is next
best to the best of the Tamizh Thalapathis,
Hon'ble Mr.V.Prabhakaran.
From: Vijay Pillai, 30
December 2000
My best wishes for a happy and
prosperous new year 2001 to you and to your team
maintaining this website. I would like to
nominate a Jaffna Tamil, late Senator
Nadesan,Q.C of Ceylon to the list of 100
Tamils of the 20th Century. His contribution is
well recorded in the Dictionary of Biography of
Ceylon Tamils. ..As a reader of newspapers since
the days of Bandaranayake in 1956, I too have had
the benefit of reading the late Senator Nadesan's contributions in
the Senate particularly during the arms
insurrection in 1971 in Ceylon.
From: Jayakarthik, 27 December 2000
I would like to nominate
Kalki
Krishnamoorthy and V.Gopalaswamy
to the list of one hundred Tamils of the
20th century.
From: Sinnathurai Giritharan,
Canada, 23 December
2000
I would like to suggest the
name of Rev. Fr. Jegath Gaspar of Radio
Veritas to the list of 100 Tamils of the
20th century.
From: Mano
Ratnam, 21 December 2000
Vanakkam, I would like to nominate N. Mohanadass and M.
Magendren,
two Tamils from Malaysia who set foot on the
summit of Mt Everest in 23 May 1997.
From: Sivananthan Sivaparan, 11 December 2000
Please include in your list of
100 Tamils, Kathiravelu Kanapathipillai Vijayaratnam,
Engineering Consultant whose contributions to
engineering practice, education , applied
research and sustainable development earned
listing in, Who's Who in Science and
Engineering, Who's Who in the World, Dictionary
of International Biography, and Asians in the
Millennium. His contribution on "Engineering
Education in the New Millennium: Towards
Sustainable Technology, Infrastructure and
Environment" appears at the Engineering MIT Department of
Civil and Environmental Engineering New
Millennium Colloquium.
From: Kanthasamy Elankumaran USA, 9
December 2000
I would like to nominate Valiamma from the South
African Liberation Movement. I could not find
much literature on her. The following text was
obtained at the following web page http://www.anc.org.za/books/triumphs_part4.html#back2
'Indian women at the beginning of
the century virtually made Gandhi, and proved the
efficiency of the new liberation dialectic of
satyagraha that he introduced.' The Indian
resistance movement had remained mainly elitist
until the women from two ashrams in Natal and the
Transvaal transformed it into a mass movement. In
1912 they defied the anti - Asiatic law, crossed
the provincial border from both ends and provoked
the miners of Newcastle to lay down their picks
and strike. A thousand workers then began the
epic march led by Gandhi across the Natal border
into the Transvaal. According to Meer, 'The
great figure of that struggle was not Gandhi, but
the emaciated young Valiamma, who refused to
surrender despite her fatal illness following
repeated imprisonments. She died in the
struggle."
From: Sivakumar Jayabalan, Muraiyoor
Soorakkudi, 6 December
2000
Vanakkathukuriya Nanbarae!
Dr Vadivel Ganapathy, Regents
Professor, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta,
GA, USA, won several distinguished awards, born
in Vellore district, Tamil Nadu, India, and was
selected three years in a row for the "Best
Teacher Award" by American Medical School
students of Medical College of Georgia. He is a
renowned scientist in Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology, and has published more than 225
research articles in Peer reviewed scientific
journals... I would be happy if your website
recognize his feat and get a report on this true
Thamizh statesmanship award.
From: USA,
30 November 2000
Can you please include the following in the
Hundred Tamils List:
1) Theelaban - Eelam Freedom
Fighter. Even as an LTTE cadre, he followed the
path of Satyagragha - following the fast until
his death. He added a new dimension to the Eelam
Freedom Struggle.
Our Response:
Thileepan's name already appears in the Struggle for Tamil
Eelam section - some confusion may have been
caused because it appears as 'Thiyagee
Thileepan'. Many thanks for the interest that you
have taken.
From: Sachi Sri Kantha, Japan 29 November 2000
Two eminent
Eelam scientists whom I wish to nominate to the
list of 'One Hundred Tamils of 20th Century'
are,
1. S.V.O.Somanader (1897-1978), dean
of Ceylon's amateur naturalists and a noted
ornithologist.
2. Chellapah Amirthalingam
(1903-1982), marine biologist of international
renown.
[see also
Random Thoughts on Two Eelam
Scientists]
From: S.Vasanth
Kumar, India,14 November
2000
Literary: R K Narayan
Music: Thanjavur Venkatesa Iyengar
Cartoonist : R K Lakshman
From: Ramanah, 9 October
2000
I would like to nominate Mr. Handy
Perinbanayagam and Mr. C.
Subramaniam (Orator) to the list of Hundred
Tamils as they had contributed greatly to the
political consciousness of Jaffna by forming the
Student Congress in early thirties. In addition,
they were out standing educators who had
contributed greatly to the Jaffna society.
I would also like to nominate
Dr. C. W.
Thamotharampillai under Language and
Literature section. Dr. C.W. Thamotharampillai
who was a native of Jaffna had his education at
Vaddukodai Seminary (Jaffna College). Later he
joined University of Madras and became one of the
first to graduate from there.
He did yeoman service for Tamil literature by
unearthing ancient Tamil literary work which were
almost lost to the present generation. I think
his contribution to the Tamil Language could be
compared to that of Swaminatha Iyer.
From: Suriyanarayanan S, 8 October
2000
I appreciateyour effort in listing the great
Tamils of the 20th century. It gives an
opportunity for Indian Tamils to know more about
the great Tamil souls spread all over the world,
as Indian Tamils are generally ignorant about the
achievements of the non-Indian Tamils.
I would like to nominate the following
persons:
Literature:
Subramaniya
Bharathi, Maraimalai Adigalar, Bharthidasan,
Sujatha
Science and Education: Abdul Kalam,
A.Lakshmana Swami Mudaliar, M.S.
Swaminathan, Sir C.V Raman
Music & Dance: Ilayaraja,
MS
Subbulakshmi, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer,
Padma Subramaniam
Sports: Anand, Kris Srikanth,
Muttiah Muralitharan
Sculpture: Ganapathy
Stapathi (the great sculptor who built the
grand Valluvar statue
at Kanyakumari)
Politics: CN Annadurai,
K.Kamaraj, Kalaignar Karunanidhi
Spirituality: Kirubanda
Variyaar, Kundrakudi Adigalar
I have reservations about the nominations of
MGR,
R.Venkataraman, Kamal Hassan, Sankaracharya. They
have done nothing for our community. I feel that
people like VN Janaki, Susheela, Balamurali
Krishna, Janaki are not Tamils. But I am happy
that Rajinikanth's name is not in the list.
Indian Tamils have at least this maturity not to
show their cinema craze in this list.
From: Vidhi Tambiah, US 28
September 2000
I nominate H.W. Tambiah QC, LL.D, Ph.D as an
erudite Historian and Tamil scholar as well as
being one of the most scholarly of Supreme Court
judges who contributed not only to the fabric of
Tamil culture but to the legal framework of the
Sri Lanka.
From: Vijay
Pillai, UK 20 July
2000
Professor P. Ramasamy of
Malaysia deserves a place among the greats of
Tamils of the world. His grasp of issues on Eelam
and the just cause of Eelam Tamils should be an
inspiration to all who aspire to regain that
which we lost for more than 5 centuries under the
Colonial rulers of Europe and recently for 50
years under ill fated Sinhalese rulers - a
conflict which has reached genocidal proportions
in two months. Professor Ramasamy deserves a
better place than the late Professor Wilson,
however eminently he may have served in Canada
for the past four decades.
From: Arivazhagan Balasubramanian,
17 July 2000
I would like to nominate a prominent person for
Entrepreneurs - Mr.Shiv Nadar. He is the founder and
chairman of HCL Group of companies which was one
of the first companies to make a name for it self
in the Indian information technology field.his
name is one of the prominent names missing in the
list of Entrepreneurs.
From: Vaidyanathan, Bharath
12 July 2000
I would like to include film director Mani Ratnam in
the list of 100 great Tamils.He is one of India's
greatest directors and all his movies are keenly
awaited for not only in Tamil Nadu , but in the
entire country.
From: Stephen 29
June 2000
I would like to
nominate Mr.Kamararaj for being an honest and
simple politician. I would share one of his deeds
- as his mother was old and was living in a small
home and Kamaraj being a Chief Minister, she
requested for a waternear her hou will also have
to travel that distance to fetch water, mum. And
he refused his mothers personal request. I wish
if at least few of our polititions are as
patriotic as Mr.Kamaraj.
From: Arul Nathan 28 June
2000
I would like to nominate "Periyar" E.V Ramasamy and
C.N
Annadurai to the 100 notable Tamils list.
When the Tamilians were in a desperate state,
enslaved by the Aryans, trodden down as "sudra"
or the "son of a prostitute", they were the ones
who brought self respect and literacy to the
people of Tamil Nadu... So they should be surely
mentioned in the list...
From: Periyiar Ramasamy, Singapore,
3
June 2000
There have been 55 million Tamils
living in Tamil Nadu in India, but they could not
create for themselves a defined ethnic
recognition - either within the country or
outside - despite living in a state that had its
very name as Tamil Nadu. In New Delhi and in the
North, they continued to be designated as
"Madrasis" in the public eye, in a disparaging
way, while in the world outside they were simply
Indians - like all other Indians.
It is the emergence of the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and its leader
V.Pirabaharan, at the helm and their
relentless fight against state
terrorism that has today brought to
Tamils all over the world - including the
non-Brahmin thinking sections of Tamils in Tamil
Nadu - a new sense of pride and
dignity that was never there before.
V.Pirabaharan is a star that
rises once in a thousand years. The Tamil people
are blessed people to witness this star rise in
the Zodiac in their lifetime in this 21st.
century.
From: Govindarajan Venkatasesha, USA
30 May 2000
I would like to add
(1) K.B. Chandrasekhar, Co-founder and
Chairman, Board of Directors, Exodus
Communications (biographical sketch)and
( 2 ) Narayanan Murthy, CEO, Infosys
From: KVijayaratnam, USA 26 May
2000
May I add N.Sabaratnam,
former vice president of All Ceylon Union of
Teachers during the fifties. In that capacity he
represented Ceylon at International Conferences
of Teachers in India and traveled extensively in
Europe. During the last decade of his term of
office he served as principal of Jaffna Hindu
College. I was in the first class he took at JHC
when he commenced teaching English in 1962 in his
capacity as vice-principal. As a Principal his
Friday sermons had always new wisdom injected
with all the seriousness of real life
experiences. One was about a brilliant engineer
but a failure in married life. His journalistic
skills were put to good use by the then Eelanadu
as Editor after retirement. His autobiography has
been published after his untimely death titled
'Corridors of Peace'. He must have read
,Corridors of Power by C.P.Snow,1959
From: Thavaraj Subramaniam, 12 May
2000
I would like to nominate all the Tamils who
fought gallantly against the colonialists and
imperialists, and those who pioneered economic
development in third world countries, those who
died in the Burma-Indian Railway, those who died
of disease while compelled to serve their
masters, those who fought and died in the first
and second world wars and all those who
sacrificed their lives so that we can have a good
future. Thank you
From: M.Reza, Singapore, 30 April
2000
I would like to support the nomination of
Mr. J. Y.
Pillay. I had the opportunity to meet the man
and he truly is an outstanding individual who
regardless of his outstanding achievements, has a
great deal of humility and would be an excellent
role model for everyone. He's a brilliant, but
more importantly, a kind man.
From: Prasad K
Sundar 14 April 2000
I wish to nominate S G Kittappa and Rajarathnam
Pillai... S G Kittappa was one of our fore
most singers, who was a great artiste in Tamil
drama. Rajarathnam Pillai was a great nadaswara
vidwan unparalleled for his raga expositions and
music. He played on 15th August 1947 in front of
the entire country.
From: Vijay K Pillai
1 April 2000
Contribution to the world at large and Tamil
togetherness: If we use Einstein's theory of
general relativity, there is no such thing as
pure Tamil and it is a myth. Ethirveerasingham was a household
name like Thanthai Chelva during the 50s and 60s.
I have seen his athletic performance in
Jaffna.
Togetherness in this context
means bringing a community of people together
both in celebration of achievements as well as in
sharing of grief (death of Princes Diana, for
instance). In this respect, once Einstein said,
if my theory of relativity failed Germany will
say I am Jew, France will say I am a German. If
my theory is successful, France will say I am
French, and Germany will say I am a German.
Let us not forget there are so
many doctors and engineers from Jaffna, but only
one Ethirveerasingham who made every Tamil proud
... If he were in the West he would have been a
rich man at that time.
Ethirveerasingham must be
recognised under sports as an outstanding Tamil
in bringing together Tamils in celebration of a
unique achievement in sport at that time.
I certainly was more proud of him
than of many Tamils whose names appear as
contributing to Tamils but in fact they collected
knighthoods for themselves through their
shortsightedness, whereas Jinnah refused such
honours but got Pakistan instead.... Ethirveerasingham certainly has a sense
of humour and he is very humble about his
achievements. His grand mother's witty remarks
made me laugh. She certainly must be proud of her
grand son.
From: Giritharan , Canada,
26 March 2000
I wish to
nominate Late , 'Arinjar' A.N.Kanthasami, a well known Tamil
writer from Tamil Eelam. 'Re-discovering A.N.K is
very essential , in my view, for the benefit of
Tamil Literature. He is a writer can not be
ignored or forgotten. Publishing his works on
Tamil Literature (Poetry, Drama, Novel), His
poems, His short Stories, His Translations, His
English Writings will show his multi-talented
personality. During his period as an editor for
the well known Tamil news news paper
'Suthanthiran' , he published articles on
'Silappathikaaram' under one of his pen names,
'Pandithar Thirumalairajar'. He also translated
French Writer Emilie Zola's 'Nana' which was
appeared as serial in 'Suthanthiran'. His English
articles on 'Thirukkural' appeared in the
'Tribune' where he was in the editorial board. He
was the pioneer of the Tamil progressive writing
in Ceylon. More information about him can be
found at the following web sites: Aaramthinai and
ANK's Poems at the Canadian Literature
Page.
I also wish to
nominate.A.Se.Murugaananwtham for his contributions
to the development of Tamil Short Stories and
Kavinjar Makaakavi for his contributions to the
Modern Tamil Poetry.
From: V.K.Pillai 22 March
2000
I would like to nominate the following
Tamils....I have revised the list to 500 since
100 is not sufficient and must be an arbitrary
figure. The list has already gone beyond 200.
There are examples of Fortune 500. My nominations
are:
1. Dr M S Uthayamoorthy - scholar
and prominent chemist who has earned a place in
who is who of finance and industry in USA as well
as contributing to the upliftment of Tamils
through his writings particularly in Tamil Nadu
for the past two decades .
2. Tan Sri Devaki Kirishnan - a Jaffna Tamil in
Malaysia, she has shown exceptional qualities of
leadership amongst the Tamils and women of
Malaysia, over half a century.Tan Sri is the
highest honour given by the King of Malaysia for
her services few years ago.
From:Humayoon
Kabeer Malaysia 5 March
2000
I wish to nominate Seeni Naina Mohamed of Penang,
Malaysia and also the editor of Unggal Kural a
Tamil literary magazine and who is also a well
known Tamil literary critic not only in Malaysia
but also through out the world where Tamil is
spoken
From: Kannan, Chennai 10
February 2000
Kindly include
Mr.See.Baa.Adhithanar owner of the Daily
Thanthi in your list for his contribution to
Tamil Language...
From: Kannan,
4 February 2000
Kindly include the name of Mr.Kutti Muni under
the category of Struggle Thamil Eleam, as he was
the person to first sacrifice his life for the
cause of Tamil Eelam Struggle.
Response by
tamilnation: His name
already appears in the category as Selvarajah
Yogachandran. Please also see Martyrdom of Thangathurai &
Kuttimuni
From: Palani Malaysia 29 December
1999
I wish to nominate Mr. Athi Kumanan who is the
President of "Malaysian Tamil Writers
Association". His contributions towards Tamil
journalism and Tamil literary work is highly
remarkable. He has set an unprecedented record as
the most successful editor for various Tamil
Dailies and Weeklies in Malaysia. He is currently
with "Malaysia Nanban Daily" which has the
largest readership amongst the Tamil Dailies in
Malaysia. His contribution for the well being of
the Malaysian Indians through his forceful
writing is enormous. He is appreciated as a man
who would voice for the rights of the Indians at
all times. His untiring contributions towards the
Tamils and the Indians are well recognised by the
Malaysians as well as many people and
organisations abroad. He is the most suitable
person to be placed as one of the most
influential men of the 20th century from Malaysia
for the present theme.
From: Dr.S.Mahendran UK 29 December
1999
I wish to nominate the late K. Kandasamy of the Tamil
Information Centre (UK) in the category of
those who contributed for the struggle for Eelam.
He was a pioneer in the field of human rights and
self determination of Eelam Tamils. His struggle
commenced in 1977 following the pogrom of 77 when
he brought to life the TRRO and went on to bring
about the publication of the proceedings of
Sansoni commission and then the Saturday
review.
Following the Dollar and Kent
farm debacle he had to leave the country to avoid
imprisonment. While in the UK in spite of his ill
health he worked day and night to bring to the
notice of the world the plight of Eelam Tamils
and the obvious course of action towards Self
determination. His work towards the
rehabilitation of Tamil refugees is
legendary.
Unfortunately our community fails
to appreciate such human beings who were close to
making history. He met his tragic end in the
hands of a frenzied group of Tamils who did not
appreciate the value of such a special person. A
callous and violent act ended the life of this
cherished man whose body was cast in to a cess
pit in Chunnakam.
I nominate him as a "Karma
Veeran" who made invaluable contributions towards
the struggle for Eelam.
From: Vijay Pillai
US 29 December 1999
I would nominate A.P.Rajah, a
Jaffna Tamil, born in Malaysia, former High
Commissioner for Singapore in the United Kingdom
during the early years of Singapore as a new
nation, an Oxford educated lawyer, former
pro-chancellor of University of Singapore who
passed away recently in his eighties....
From: Sivakumaran Sivathillainathan UK,
26 December 1999
I have looked upon your survey
with joy. I like to nominate the following
Tamils... I have included short biographical
sketches.
1)K.T.
Francis
Full name: Kandiah Thirugnansampandapillai
Francis
D.O.B.: 15 October 1939
P.O.B.: Kegalle
Career: Cricket player/railway guard, cricket
umpire
Umpirical Test Appearences: 25
Umpirical O.D.I. Appearences: 56
Married with one son and one daughter
Retired from Sri Lankan Railway
2)Muttiah Muralitharan
D.O.B.: 17 April 1972
P.O.B.: Kandy
Career: Cricket player
Batting Style: Right hand
Bowling style: Right arm off-break
O.D.I. Debut: vs. India, Colombo (11 August
1993)
Batting Stats: Matches-129, Runs-185,Not
outs-28
Bowling Stats: Matches-129, Balls-6930,
Wickets-177
Fielding Stats: Matches-129, Catches-60
From: Jasintha Aberg, Sweden 22
December 1999
I wish to nominate Rev.
Fr. David Singarajar for "Language and
Literature". As Nallur Swami Gnapragasar passed
away Rev. Fr. David Singarajar took over his work
to write a dictionary (for details contact Jaffna
Bishop's House). Rev. Fr. David Singarajar
donated tens of thousands of books to the Jaffna
Public Library. We
heard that when the library was burned he
died because of the shock from the news. He
worked as a rector in England in the 50-ies. Rev.
Fr. David Singarajar contributed as much as
Rev.
Fr. Thaninayagam in language research.
From: Vijay Pillai,
Malaysia 16/18 December 1999
I am rather surprised by the comment about
nuclear science as destructive. On a positive
note, for many countries of the world, a major
energy source is nuclear. It is not easy as
accountancy or law to master. If you are
genuinely interested, contributions to whatever
field must be recognised.
Mother Mangalam of the Pure
Life Society of Malaysia has been instrumental
for the past 50 years in bringing together
orphanage children under one roof and helping
them to be educated and preserve thier unique
culture. She is still active in Malaysia. She was
honoured by the King of Malaysia. I have visited
her Mission several times and mentioned to her
that I regard her as Mother Theresa of South East
Asia.
Minister Samy Velu has been an able
leader of Tamils and Indians of Malaysia - both
Indian and Ceylon origin as well as Malaysian
born. He has been a Malaysian Government Minister
for several years. He has been a Federal Minister
for Public Works in recent times. Preservation of
Tamil culture and Hindu religous practices in
Malaysia owe a great deal to his contributions
within the Malaysian multiracial, multicultural
and multi linguistic society.
From: Dushyanth
Gnanapragasam, Toronto, Canada
6 December 1999
One notable
omission in the History and Social Sciences
section, and also from the Language and
Literature section, is the name of Nallur Swami Gnanapragasar. I believe
his contribution to Tamil is unparalleled by any
in this era. His name would be more fitting in
one of these categories than in the Spirituality
section. A name I would like to add to the
spirituality section is that of Ramalinga
Vallalaar.
From:Mohamed Backer, Emirates, 2
December 1999
I nominate the following:
1. QUID-E-Milath Mohamed Ismail, who
participated in the Indian freedom movement, was
the chief of the Indian Muslim League, and was
elected several times a Member of Parliament and
had a clean public life. When the national
language question arose after independence, some
suggested English and some suggested Hindi,
Sanskrit, Urudu. Quid E-Milath said "If any one
of the language can become the national language
of India - that is Tamil".
2. World famous mathematician Dr S. Ramanujan
3. Marudhu Pandian --well known freedom
fighter, (a movie also released by
his name)
4. Kamala Hassan (Cinema actor)
5. Pattukotai Kalyanasundaram
6 Sir C.V.
Raman (Scientist)
7. Dr.
S.Chandrasekar (Scientist)
8 Dr Abdul Kalam
(Scientist)
From: Kumar, 24 November 1999
MGR - The man of the masses was born in Kandy
Sri Lanka on 17-01-1917. His father was a lawyer
and not a plantation worker . He
was a teacher in Kandy Law College. He was a man
who willed all his properties for poor speech
impaired (Deaf) children. Please visit
http://education.vsnl.com/mgr
From: Vasudev, Singapore, 18
November 1999
I would like to nominate
"Kappalottia Tamizhan " V.O.
Chidambaram Pillai. He had the courage to
compete in the business world in the early
century. If every one of us follow his way, we
can lead the business world. His freedom fighting
movement together with Maha Kavi Subramanya Bharathi and
Sivam is worth remembering.
From: Abraham Judah, Singapore,
13 November 1999
Velupillai Pirabaharan is
undoubtedly God's gift to the Dravidian Tamil
world.. .(with the rise of this ''Star'') there
is a new found respect for the Tamil people all
over the world .. There has been a meteorical
rise in respect of the Tamil people today,
never found before. The Dravidian nation was
the cradle of civilisation. .. The Tamils were always a great nation but
the world never credited us... (but) with
Pirabaharan the world marvels - and is
mystified (as to) how a small group of people
without outside support have sustained
themselves and prevailed against all
odds....
J.Y.Pillay is a far better
choice than S.Dhanabalan. J.Y.Pillay was
the genius that almost single handedly brought
Singapore Airlines to where it is today - not
Dhanabalan. All Singaporeans know that. The
disparity between the two is great. Mr.Pillay
was also credited for being the brains behind
Singapore's monetary policy. He was also
acclaimed by the former Prime Minister of
Singapore as being one of the worlds best
brains equal to any in the west. Dhanabalan was
a cabinet minister but he is not a Tamil role
model to be singled out for the 100
greats...
Sadasivam Maragatham U.S..A.
9 November 1999
Vanakam. My
nomination for the 100 most influential Tamils of
the 20th century is H.H. Sri Swami Satchidanandaji Maharaj of
Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville Buckingham,
Virginia USA. He is a Poorna Yogi and inspiration
of the magnificent LOTUS Temple at
Yogaville.
From: V.Thangavelu, Canada,
12 November 1993
Vanakkam. Under literature I find
no mention of Mu Va (Mu.Varatharajan). His
contribution to Tamil language and literature is
enormous. The novels he wrote and the characters
he created are house-hold names. Also there is no
mention about Samy Sithamparanar. He has
written extensively on Sankam literature and have
authored more than twenty books. Properly
speaking C.N.Annadurai and Kalaignar Karunanidhi
should find a place under literature category as
well. The names of Es.Po. Sundara Ramasamy, Dr.
Kailasapathy, Mu.Thalayasingkam, Ashokamitran do
not deserve a place. What about Kasi
Anandan, Puthuvai Ratnadurai and
K.P.Ratnam? Why have their names been
omitted?
Under spirituality you have
included Kannada Brahmins but not Kunrakkudi Adikal who clamored for
archanas in Tamil? In politics please remove the
name of G.G.Ponnambalam. How can S.J.V.
Chelvanayagam and G.G.Ponnambalam be placed on
par? It will be akin to the hero and the villain
put on the same platform. V.Navaratnam, ex M.P. and
author of the Rise and Fall of Tamil Nation
deserves a place.
Under history the name of
Mudaliyar C.Rasanayagam should have
found a place. He is the author of several books
including Ancient Jaffna. So also the name of
Dr.Sinnappah Arasaratnam who died last
year.
To my mind this exercise should
be scrapped since we are not addressing this
question to a wider section of Tamils. It is the
English educated class which is participating in
this exercise. The omission of Kasi Anandan
and Puthuvai is entirely due to this
factor.
National Leader Pirabaharan is in
a class by himself and his name in all fairness
should not be included with anyone else.
Response by
tamilnation:
Some of the confusion may have
arisen because the nominations were placed in two
different web pages - this has now been
rectified. All the names that have been suggested
now appear in this one page.
From: V.Thangavelu, Canada, 31
October 1999
Vanakkam. After reading some (of the nominations)
I cannot help feel that some persons are trying
to take the Tamil Nation for a ride to satisfy
their own whims and fancies and
self-interests...
(I cannot agree with the nomination) of a person
such as P. Nagalingam, Proctor who was not
known beyond Elephant Pass to be counted as one
among the "One Hundred". Nor a person like
G.G.Ponnambalam for whose
short-sighted... politics we are still paying a
heavy price in blood ( his son making ample
amends for his father's sins). It is obvious that
some readers are taking undue advantage of the
opportunity to promote their kith and kin....
I am disappointed with Sachi Sri
Kantha for nominating the names of Koththamangalam Subbu, R.Venkataraman and C.Rajagopalachari. ... How many
Tamils know Koththamangalam Subbu?
R.Venkataraaman? What are their worth and
what
are their contributions to the Tamil world and to
Tamil togetherness?...
One Ramalingam Shanmugalingam while nominating
PerungKavikko Sethuraman has given a
lengthy bio-data as a back-up. I don't deny
PerunKavikko has in his own humble way
contributed to the use and advancement of the
Tamil language. But apart from that what are his
contributions to merit inclusion? Does anyone
remember even one poem he has written?
(...Neither can I agree with the
nomination of ) Dr.P.S.Subramaniam, Janaki
Ramachandran, S.Ponnudurai, N.Ethirveerasingham etc.
Please let us be serious about
the whole business of nominating to the list of
"100 Tamils." Those nominated should have made a
difference, brought about profound changes in the
life of the Tamil Nation and the Tamil People. I
broadly agree with the criteria laid down by
M.Thanabalasingham when we come to
nominate persons to decide the "One Hundred".
From: Dr. P.K.Ramasamy , Malaysia, 12
October 1999
"Monkombu Sambasivam Swaminathan - it is sad to
note that this outstanding individual who was
greatly responsible for India's Green Revolution
and who also recently appeared in the TIME
magazine as one of the 100 most influential
Asians of the 20th century has no mention in your
list."
Our Response:
Many thanks for pointing out the
omission. This has now been set right.
From: Kannan Swamy, India
28 September
1999
I applaud your
effort in trying to compile a list of 100
Tamilians who have contributed to our heritage. I
found a glaring omission in the Music, Dance,
Drama Category. Kamal
Hassan, the most versatile and the best actor
ever on the Indian screen does not find any
mention in your listings. Is there any prejudice
here? Currently, there is no Tamilian who is more
popular than him in India. He is the most
talented film personality not only in the Tamil
film world but also in the Indian film world.
Please include Kamal Hassan in your list as he is
the only Tamilian, who has put the Tamil film
industry on the world map with his efforts in
producing, acting and directing quality films
that stands the test of time. He has created a
niche for Tamil films all over which was earlier
restricted to South India.
From: Sushila Krishnamurthi 20 August
1999
I recommend Dr.M.S.
Swaminathan to be listed as one of the 100
Tamils of the century. He has been awarded the
Roman Magsaysay award. Apart from that he along
with his wife Mrs Mina Swaminathan have founded
the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation and have
been trying to bring about changes in our
education system.
From: Niranjan Ramakrishnan
12 August
1999
I nominate the
great Tamil music critic, Subbudu (P.V.Subramaniam). He is the doyen of
Carnatic Music criticism, reviewing music and
dance performances for Swadeshamithiran, Kalki,
Kumudam, Dinamani Kadir and Ananda Vikatan, among
journals. He has been responsible for encouraging
and bringing to the forefront many of the
musicians we know today, including Mandolin
Srinivas, Bombay Sowmya and Shashank. Many may
be unaware that Subbudu is also an institution in
New Delhi, being one of the first Tamils to
settle there (1943). He participated in founding
most of the early Tamil institutions in New
Delhi, including the Madrasi school, the South
Indian Cultural Association, and the South Indian
Theatres. Shri Subbudu, a fine mimic and actor
himself, has directed several Tamil plays as
well.
From: John
Joshva Raja 4 August 1999
I would nominate:
For Music - Kunaakudi Vaidyanathan,
Ilayaraja
For Nationalism - Kattapomman, Pulithevan, Veeravanchinathan, V.O.Chidambarampillai
For Religion - Kanchi Samkarachari,
Kundrakudi Adihalar
From: Vamanan Sundar, 18 July
1999
I would like to nominate the
following two persons... to honour their courage,
and dedication. They had a huge vision about the
future Tamil Eelam.
1. Lt. Col. Victor: He was born
in Mannar to a middle class family that actively
participated in the struggle for Tamil Eelam. It
is very appropriate to point out that Victor's
father was one of those who was injured during
the satygraha at Galle Face against the
Sinhala Only language policy ...Victor
joined the L.T.T.E in the early 80's. L.T.T.E
leader V. Pirabaharan appointed him as the
area leader of the Mannar region. Victor led
many attacks against the Sri Lankan government
armed forces. Later when, V. Pirabaharan started
the L.T.T.E's first Women's Brigade it
was at the early stage under Victor's
supervision. ... Part of the credit for the
success of Women's Tigers goes to Victor.
....
2. Lt. Col. Ponnamman
He was born in Jaffna and studied
in Jaffna Hindu College. He joined the L.T.T.E in
the early 80's and soon won the trust and respect
of V. Pirabaharan. Pirabaharan appointed
Ponnamman as head of the Training camp in India.
Many who joined the L.T.T.E in the early 80's
were trained by Ponnamman. Ponnamman set the path
for creating courageous, dedicated, and
disciplined cadres - this paved the way for the
L.T.T.E 's success.
From: Sivaraj D 14 July
1999
I would like to nominate writer "Sujatha"
Rangarajan for "One Hundred Tamils of the
20th Century " in Language & Literature
section.
He was one of the most
influential Tamil writers of the later part of
the 20th Century in India. He is a role model for
many aspiring and now popular writers. He was the
first and most prominent writer of Science
fiction in Tamil. He propagated scientific
awareness through his articles in Dinamani Sudar,
Ananda Vikatan, Junior Vikatan and other Tamil
magazines. He was awarded the prestigious
B.D.Goenka award for his contribution in
"Popularizing Science among the Public".
He also served in various
committees of the Government of Tamilnadu for
standardizing and popularizing Tamil
computing.
His significant works include:
Science - General:
En? engE? Eppadi? (Questions and answers about
everyday science)
Silicon Sillup Puratchi (Story of silicon
chips)
Computerin kathai (Basic computer knowledge)
Thalaimai Ceyalagam (Functions of brain)
Science Fiction:
En Iniya Iyanthira
Meendum Jini
Aakaayam
2082 (?)
He has also authored numerous novels, short
stories, and movie screenplay/stories, and
various articles in popular magazines.
From Manoharan Ratnam 8 July
1999
I do not agree with the nomination of the
following:
a) M.G
Ramachandran , unlike EVR and Vaiko, though
non Tamils but are technically Tamils as they
were born in Tamilnadu, MGR does not qualify to
be Tamil.
b) Sinnathamby Rajaratnam & Suppiah
Dhanabalan - both ex-cabinet ministers of
Singapore. Though they were brilliant politicians
their contribution to the Tamil culture, language
etc is nil. Both married non Tamils and
S.Dhanabalan is well known in Singapore for his
comments against the Tamil culture and religion.
His nomination would be an insult to Singaporean
Tamil Hindus.
c) In my opinion, I feel Tamils who contributed
to nuclear science should not be nominated, as
their contribution is one of a destructive
energy.
d) Lastly there has been an over emphasis on
sport personnel, particularly in Tennis and
Cricket. It appears that (Tamilnadu/Eelam) Tamils
excel only in this elite sports. There are many
excellent Tamil sports men/women from Malaysia
and Singapore who have created Asian records.
e.g. Malaysian G. Saravanan, the Gold Medallist in
50 km walk in the recent Commonwealth games. His
victory created national headlines. FYI, Malaysia
has some outstanding Tamil athletes.
From Aru Thedchanamoorthy 4 July
1999
I had a chance to view the above list and I am a
little dissappointed that Mr. A. Amirthalingam's
name was not there. I would like to nominate
Mr. A. Amirthalingam's name to
the above list.
- while he was a... student he
was choosen by Mr. S.J.V. Chelvanayagam ...and
was a back bone of the Federal Party which
fought Sinhala Only and Government assisted
Sinhalese settlements (in the Tamil
homeland)
- no Tamil would forget Amirthalingam's role in
the 1956 protest at Galle Face and his speech
with a bloody wound on his head.
- the struggle for Tamil Eelam really surfaced
with the Pannakam Conference and the roles of
the TULF and Amir are unforgettable
- role of Amir as the only Tamil opposition
leader and his messages to the world at that
time brought us considerable recognition.
Response by
tamilnation: The question
whether Mr.Appapillai Amirthalingam should be
included in a list of 100 Tamils of the 20th
Century is examined in a separate article.
From
Mano Ratnam, Australia 2 July
1999
I would like to make the following
nominations
Temple architecture
a) Muthiah Sthapathi,
Tamilnadu
b) Nagarajan Sthapathi, Tamilnadu -
please refer
www.gov.sg/heb/sivantemple/tem_architecture.html
Music/Drama/Dance
a) Dr
Navtheetham, Tamilnadu - for her extensive
research on Tamil folk music
b) Kalaimamani Subbu Arumugam, Tamilnadu
- Villupattu
c) Dr
L. Subramanian, America - renown
violinist
d) Kunagudi Vaithiyanathan,
Tamilnadu
e) Elangovan, Singapore- Highly
acclaimed contemporary Tamil play writer &
director
f) Ravichandra, Australia - Mrdangam
Vidvan & promoter of Carnatic music in
Australia
Society
Sister
Mangalam, Malaysia - dedicated social
worker
Late Sarangapany, Singapore - Founder of
Singapore's only Tamil daily - Tamil Murasu &
Tamilar Thirunal
Late P Govindasamy Pillai, Singapore -
Philanthropist who contributed to the renovation
and construction of temples and kalyana mandapams
in Singapore, Malaysia & India, e.g Srinivasa
Perumal Temple Rajagopuram & Kalyana Mandapam
(Singapore), Andal Sanithi in Srivilliputtur
Politics
Tun
Sambanthan, Malaysia - Pioneer in Malaysian
Politics & has the honour of a road in Kuala
Lumpur named after him.
Spirituality
Swami Sivananda, Malaysia -
Founder of the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh,
India
Yoga
Yogi
Balakrishnan, Malaysia, Singapore - A yoga
exponent
From Murali Murugavelu India 19
June 1999
Greetings. I checked the section
on Tamil scholars and writers. In this regard I
would like to nominate: Mr. M. P.
Periaswami Thooran. He was awarded the Padma
Bhushan, the Kalaimamani award and a host of
awards and titles like " Esai Perarignyar",
"Sentamil Kalaichelvar" for his contributions in
the field of Music, Drama and Poetry.
He was also the Chief Editor of the Tamil
Encyclopaedia, a mammoth work spanning 10 Volumes
and a Junior Tamil Encylopedia for Children,
paving way for the growth of Science in Tamil
Nadu.He is best remembered for his works on
Children.
His Carnatic compositions like "
Muruga Muruga ", " Gana Nadhanae "and " Murli
dhara gopala " have entralled audiences
worldwide. He also edited the Underground , pro
Independence anti British publication " Pithan ".
He definitely deserves a place among the top 100
Tamils. I request you to research this
legendary, unassuming personality.
From: Ramkumar USA 11 June
1999
Please consider Kamal
Hassan, ... Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram, and
writer Sujatha who influences contemporary
Tamil youth with his science based Tamil
novels.
I think we should have famous entrepreneurs and
industrialists sections too. Azhagappa
Chettiar may be listed under this
category.
Actually Mahesh
Bhupathi was born in Madras and is a Tamilian
and I guess he should be added to the sports
section (remember, recently he won the grand-slam
with Leander Paes).
I am not sure why J.Krishnamurthy is not added under
spirituality section. May be you consider him a
Telugu.
Political section : One can consider, T.T.Krishnamachari (once a Cabinet
Minister under Nehru), P.Chidambaram (ex Finance
Minister), Amirthalingam (a Tamil
moderate who got killed by the LTTE for reasons
that no Tamil in Tamilnadu knows about, but
neverthless considered as a great soul), Anbazhagan
(eternal no 2 to Karunanidhi, but neverthless a
staunch Dravidian conformist), Muthuramalinga Thevar, R.Venkatraman
(Former President of India).
Science section: Dr. Chidamabaram (famous
colleague of Abdul Kalam)
Response by
tamilnation:
J.Krishnamurthy was not included
because he was not a Tamil. The question
whether Mr.Appapillai Amirthalingam should be
included in a list of 100 Tamils of the 20th
Century is examined in a separate article.
From Harigopal
Raghavan 24 May
1999
It is heartening to note
that people are interested in learning about the
past. History when used in the right way,
tells us about the pitfalls to avoid, and the
contributions which lead to a fruitful life. A
common quality which our freedom fighters had,
was 'simplicity and thoughtfulness' of these
people. They were interested not only in freedom
from the British, but also freedom from evil
social bondages of caste inequality, gender
inequality, and economic exploitation. It is
appropriate to remember here that these people
never did anything only to be in the limelight,
but their actions automatically brought them to
the limelight.
Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathi,
qualifies as a gem among Tamils, for his
contribution to the freedom struggle, to gender,
caste equality, to literature and also to Hindu
religion through simplicity in communicating
lofty ideals.
In the political arena, EVR
and Rajaji qualify due to their selfless work for
the Tamil people. The clearly visible friendship
between these two, despite their having opposing
ideologies, brings out the best in these two
leaders. It is ofcourse impossible to forget the
greatness of Kamaraj, and CNAnnadurai for their
service to the society. Among the later Tamil
politicians, MGR and Kalangyar Karunanidhi are
worshiped for their political maturity and
sincerity. Among the literary giants, Avvaiyar,
Alwars, Nayanmars are also to be remembered. The
great contributors to science and technology,
like CVRaman, and Srinivasa Ramanujam also qualify to
the list. Present day greats like Sujatha, Cho
Ramaswamy and artists like MSS also qualify to
the list because of their prominence in Tamil
life.
From Theivendran Vigneswaran, Canada
22
May 1999
I would like to nominate
late Mr. Appapillai. Amirthalingam, the leader
of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) ...
Especially on this day, May 22nd each Tamil have
to remember this "Black Day" in our history when
we faced the grave danger to our freedom, self
respect and fundamental rights by the
promulgation of the Republication constitution by
the Sinhala government on May 22,
1972.
Mr. Amirthalingam fought
for Tamil rights in and out in the Parliament in
a democratic way till his death on 13 July 1989.
He became the undisputed leader of Tamils after
death of his political guru, "Thanthai Chelva"(
Late Mr. S.J.V Chelvanayagam. Q.C.) in 1977.
Amirthalingam was Thanthai Chelva's chief
lieutenant. Amirthalingam was the hero of the
Tamil youths, he was popular among the youths as
"Amir Annai".
Amir annan always admired
and respected the Tamil militants. He had toiled
for the unity of the militant leaders. Once he
told V.P. Vaidak that the militant leaders used
to meet him and consult him whenever it was
necessary. Mr. V Pirabaharan, LTTE leader and Uma
Maheswaran PLOTE leader used to keep in touch.
(Ethnic Crisis in Sri Lanka - India's Options by
V.P.Vaidak) Amir annai is no more with us to
carry out our struggle against the Sinhala
Government. As we get closer to remember his 10th
death anniversary, let us all join together to
achieve our goal. by, Theivendram. Vigneswaran.
Cambridge, Ont. Canada.
Response by
tamilnation:
The question whether
Mr.Appapillai Amirthalingam should be included
in a list of 100 Tamils of the 20th Century is
examined in a separate article
From V.Thangavelu Canada 8 May
1999
I will nominate E.V.K.Ramasamy otherwise known as
Thathai Periyar as the leader who made a
difference in the life of millions of Tamils who
suffered the humiliation of being called sutras.
Through the self-respect movement Periyar
restored the lost dignity and status of the Tamil
people. Though Periyar himself lamented the fact
that he is leaving the Tamils as Sutras - he had
done enough for the Tamil people to regain their
dignity and past glory.
From Siva
6 May 1999
My nominations are as follows
C.Vanniasingham MP Kopay 1948~1956 -
the one who convinced Mr S.J.V. Chelvanayakam to
form the Ilankai Tamil Arasukk Katchi in 1948 and
the only one to be elected to retain his seat (in
the north) in parliament from the party in 1952.
His efforts on Thamil Arasu and devotion brought
the party to be the one which promted and led the
Tamils for self determination.
Veuppillai Pirabaharan without any
doubt what ever to be # 1 on the list for having
unified the ideals of all Tamils and leading them
with bravery, devotion and instilling self
respect in every one of them.
C.N Annadurai the leader who
revolutionized Tamil thinking.
M.S.
Subbulaxmi - the one who proved that TAMIL
SONGS fit well into classical music. And her
acceptance as the benchmark for a melodious
voice.
S.Thondaman -
the leader of the largest trade union in his
country. In Sri Lanka any party can be the ruling
party Thondaman will always be a minister and he
will do it his way.
T.Ananda Krishnan of
Malaysia the Financial Wizard behind the tallest
building in the world - the petronas towers in
Malaysia.
Sri Jayendra Saraswathy of the Kanchi
Kamakoti Peedam the religious guru
From Sooriyajeevan, U.S.A.
21 April 1999
I would nominate, Appaiah the Senior
Most Defence Scientist of the Tamil Nation in
20th century.
Throughout the history of the
world, major technological innovations and
breakthroughs happened during the times of war.
Necessity made countries to dedicate enormous
amount of resources to achieve technological
advantage against the enemy. The Internet,
super-computers, rocket technology, geographical
positioning systems and nuclear power are a few
notable contributions among a large pool of
innovations that the defence industry opened to
civilian use.
Defence scientists and their contributions are
some of the best-kept secrets in all countries.
Appaiah of Tamil Eelam is not an exception. From
the inception of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam until he retired in the late nineties, his
contributions from improvised landmines to
homemade aircrafts, are a legend. However,
because of the secretive nature of his
contributions only a few details can be found in
public media about him.
"And Appaiah Annai who, in
terms of seniority, comes next is already in
his sixties, though essentially a military man
- the one who was initially responsible for the
LTTE expertise in landmines." Taraki, After
Prabha: question of succession, The Sunday
Times (Sri Lanka) ISSN: 1391-0531, October 20,
1996.
Technological ingenuity is
crucial for any military force that fights an
enemy with superior human resources and
firepower. Victory by the LTTE against Sri
Lanka's armed forces and India's armed forces was
possible primarily because of the technological
ingenuity of the LTTE and the dedicatin of its
cardres. And it was the senior most defence
scientist of the LTTE, Appaiah, who ensured that
the military technology of the LTTE was at its
best all the time.
"On July 23 night, an army
patrol codenamed " Four Four Bravo" and
comprising 15 men moved out of Gurunagar camp
in a jeep and a half truck. It reported at
23:28 hrs that it was moving towards Urumpurai
and it was very quiet. Moments later the patrol
neared Tinneveli, where the Tigers lay in wait.
Chellakilli, Victor and Appaiah had placed
detonators on the road and had been giving
final touches when the patrol neared the site.
" M. R. Narayan Swamy, Tigers of Lanka from
Boys to Guerrillas, South Asia Books; ISBN:
8122003869, August 1995, p. 89
Appaiah is the senior most
defence scientist of the Tamil nation in 20th
century. Any other defence scientists of his
calibre in the Tamil nation can only be found in
15th century or before.... Therefore the senior
most defence scientist of Tamil Eelam Appaiah
should also be included among the One Hundred
Tamils of the Twentieth Century.
From Sethuraman Subbaraj 11 April
1999
I would like to nominate the
great chess player Vishwanathan Anand. His
biography:
Viswanathan Anand, popularly
known as "Vishy, the Tiger from Madras" learnt
chess at the tender age of six. His lightning
speed of play and intuition saw him become the
youngest National Champion at the age of 16.
In 1987 he became the First Asian to win the
World Junior Championship. He also earned the
coveted Grandmaster title. He carved a special
place on the chessboard by winning the strongest
tournament at that time, the "Reggio Emilia" in
Italy in 1991 ahead of Kasparov and Karpov.
He was a World Championship challenger in the PCA
(New York 1995) & FIDE (1997 Lausanne)
cycles. He has the distinction of winning the
strongest knock out tournament in recent chess
history in Groningen in December 1997.
He also won the Linares Super Torneo in 1998, the
strongest tournament at this point. His other
great victories include the Melody Amber
tournament (1994 & 1997), the Credit Suisse
Masters (1997), Dos Hermanas (1997) and Wijk Aan
Zee(1998).
Anand is currently rated NUMBER Two in the World
in both the rating lists, namely, the PCA &
the FIDE lists.
Anand was awarded many prestigious titles in
India like the Arjuna Award, the Padmashri (the
youngest recipient of the title), the first
recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award,
the Soviet Land Nehru award, the BPL Achievers of
the World, Sportstar, and the Sportsworld
"Sportsman of the year 1995" Award.
Anand holds a degree in commerce, his other
hobbies are reading, swimming & listening to
music. Anand, known as the "One man Indian chess
revolution," keenly promotes the game, through
innovative methods in the country, where the game
first originated. He lives in Collado Mediano in
Spain with his wife Aruna.
From Nagarajan Pichumani 2 April
1999
VaNakkam. I would like to suggest the following
persons:
1) Semmangudi SrinivAsa Iyer : an
eminent in carnatic music, titled as "sangeetha
thAththA"; the youngest to get "sangeetha
kalAnidhi" award, and the oldest "sangeetha
kalAnidhi" living among us.
2) KAnchi MahA swAmigaL Sri Chandra
SEkarEndra Saraswathi swAmigaL - who lived 100
years and was worshipped by many other saints
also. His lectures are compiled in the name
"dheivaththin kural"; a great compilation that
includes literature to vEdhAs, daily life
practices to yAgams etc etc. A great mahaan of
the 20 th century. Even though His ancestors were
Kannada Brahmins, He was born and lived in
Thamizh nAdu as a Tamilian.
3) Important freedom fighters like Thiruppoor Kumaran, Veera VAnchi
must be included. I am not sure of their
timeline, but, if we forget them, it is a shame
to us, to enjoy the freedom that they gifted to
us.
From Vamanan Sundar, USA
I have the following names for
the "One Hundred Tamil List" nomination:
Vellupillai Balakumar - He was the
leader of another Tamil Eelam liberation
movement, EROS. He later joined with LTTE to
strengthen the Tamil fighting power. This
unselfish person showed to all the Tamil parties
that our goal is the same and we only need one
united movement to win our freedom. He
sacrificed his leadership for the freedom of
Tamils.
Dr. Anton
Balasingam
He is one of the highly educated people who works
with LTTE since the inception of LTTE. In
addition, he has also got his Australian born
wife to support for our cause. Their commitment
is an example to all the Tamils that regardless
of our education, wealth or status in the
society, we owe it to our homeland.
Thangathurai and Kuttimani
They started TELO and worked hard for the freedom
of the Tamils until they were captured and jailed
in Wellikadai and eventually murdered
by the Sinhalese thugs. The speech given by
these two on the eve of their verdict reinforces
that even in the last minute of their lives, they
were clear of their dream. Their hard work and
determination are something that we can look up
to.
P.Nedumaran, S.Ramadas, K. Veeramani
and V.Gopalaswamy
These four people are re-creating the Tamil
renaissance in Tamil Nadu. Their hard work is
beginning to pay off now. They have demonstrated
to us that we have to be determined to break the
barriers that stand in the way to reaching our
goals.
Actor
Nagesh - He was the Charlie Chaplin of the
Tamils' world. He is the best comedy actor the
Tamil cinema world has produced in the 20th
century.
Capt.
Millar - First suicide bomber who has come
forward to give up his life in the maximum way to
free Vadamaratchi (his village) when the Sri
Lankan forces captured Vadamaratchi in Operation
liberation. His initiative is a role model for
many Tamil fighters and they have begun to play
critical roles in recent fights.
Capt.
Malathi - First woman fighter to die in the
struggle for freedom. Now we see hundreds and
hundreds woman fighters leading combats. They
have changed the way that Tamil women are viewed
in Sri Lanka. Soon, the rest of the world will
come to know of it as well. Her last day on the
earth is commemorated as Women's Day in Tamil
Eelam.
From N.Mahadeva USA
I nominate the
following:
P. Nagalingam
- Proctor and leading Trade Unionist during his
time. Founding member of the Lanka Sama Samaja
Party, which fought for equality for all races in
Sri Lanka, S R Kanaganayagam - Leading Advocate
and member of UNP and later Tamil Congress and
G. G. Ponnambalam - no
need for any introduction
From: Senthil, Oklahoma,
USA
I would like to nominate the
following ....
Political Leaders:
V.O.Chidambaram Pillai,
Subramania Siva, Thirupur
Kumaran , E.V.Ramasamy(Perriyar) , Natesa
Mudaliar , Kamaraj, Nedumaran , Annadurai , Karunanithi , Ramadas
Literature:
Bharathiar
, Bharathi
Dasan (Kanaga Subburathinam) ,
Pudumai Pitthan (So.Virudhachalam) , U.Ve.Sa
, Kannadasan , Sirpi(Balasubramaniam) ,
Thalaiya Singam , Tharumu
Sivaramu , Sundara
Ramasamy , Mu.Varatharasanar
, Maraimalai Adigal, Vinayagam Pillai ,
Vanna Nilavan , Ka.Na.Subramaniam , Pazhamalai ,
Pirabanchan , Ki.Raja Narayanan
General(Statesman like)
Ki.A.Pe.Visawanatham Pillai , C.Subramaniam
, Thiru.Vi.Kalyanasundaram , Raja of
Chettinad , Raja of Panagal
Performing Arts:
Kalaivanar (NS Krishnan) , Shivaji Ganesan ,
Suseela ,
A.M.Raja ,
M.R.Radha
, M.G.Ramachandran , Kalaingar
Karunanithi, MS Viswanathan , Illaiyaraja
From [email protected]
I would nominate Janaki
Ramachandran, V.N.Janaki and Papanasam
Sivan
From Ottawa,
Canada
I would like to suggest the
following:
1. Prof. Thurairajah
Prof. Thurairajah was a great scholar who lived
in the 20th century. He had many accomplishments
in the academic field. He also contributed to
strengthen the Eelam struggle .... To honour his
contributions to the Eelam struggle, Tamil Eelam
leader Vellupillai Pirabaharan honoured him
by the name, "Mamanithan Thurairajah."
2.
Annai Poopathy
She is one of the few people who fasted to death
like Thiyagee Thileepan to protest against Indian
government's actions that severely hurt numerous
innocent Tamils in Tamil Eelam.
3. Kirushnamachari Srikanth
He is the one and only Tamil who captained the
Indian cricket team. He is one of people who made
cricket interesting .... He contributed
significantly to the success of the Indian
cricket team at the world cup in England in the
80's. When West Indies captain Vivian Richards
was asked who was the very difficult player to
handle in the world, he replied, Srikanth. "No
one can predict where he will hit the ball when
he is batting and it is very difficult to arrange
the field" said Vivian Richard.
4. Puthuvai Rathinathurai and Kasi Anandan
Both have written so many poem and songs
portraying the Tamil Eelam struggle. Their songs
are very much enjoyed by many Tamils.
From Norway:
Benjamin Raja Philip
"I suggest seven names
- Charles Lucan Anthony alias
Seelan - he acted as the Commander when
Pirabaharan was away and he was a trusted
associate.
- Sivakumaran, the first
Tamil militant hero
- Ethirveerasingham, the first Tamil to win a
gold medal at the Asian Games
- Rev. Father Peter Pillai Senior ,
educationist
- V Vanniasingam (Kopay M. P) a Founder of
the Federal Party
- Sir
Ponambalam Ramanathan
- Rev Lourdusamy, D. Simon, First Tamil
Catholic Cardinal Bishop
From Tamil Nadu:
Sundarrajan.G, Anna Nagar, Chennai-50
My nominee is Periyar
E.V.Ramasamy. He is the man who made the
Tamils realise about their significance,
tradition and brought out the evil designs
fostered by the people who came through Kyber and
Bolan passes. Real Tamilian should accept him as
fore runner of the Tamil cause
From Thambirajah Ravikularam
[email protected]
I would like to recommend - Azhikkumaran Anandan
- for his contributions in breaking the Guinness
world records in swimming and dancing etc.
From the
Emirates:
I would like to make an observation on the
classification of political activism. It would be
more appropriate if you could make a new category
named "Liberation leaders or Independence leaders
" to include people like Mr.V.Pirabaharan, Mr.S.Krishnakumar,
Mr.Thileepan etc.whose names
should not be listed along with other
politicians.
From Raghavan
T: [email protected]
I genuinely
admire the mission of Tamil Nation, and I
wish you good luck for further growth and
success. One of the things that interests me is
the One Hundred Tamils List. I would like to
nominate "Thiyagee
Thileepan" for the courageous approach he
took in the liberation fight of Tamil Eelam. As
a fighter, he used both arms and "ahimsa" for
the freedom of Tamils. Ultimately, he fasted to
death without even drinking water. He believed
that people will realise why he gave up his own
life in this cruel way and eventually a
people's revolution will occur sooner or later,
and Tamil Eelam will become a reality. For this
unique approach he took in the struggle for
freedom, he should be recognised for his
effort. Thus, I strongly feel that he qualifies
to be one of the special one hundred
Tamils.
From London: Women's
Development and Information Unit - [email protected] writes on
15/9/98:
The
greatest Tamils to liberate Tamil language and
people namely Pavanar (Deveneya Pavanar),
Perumchitiranar, Gunaseelan,
Pattukotai Azhagiri, are somehow
missing.?
Response from
tamilnation: It will be
very helpful, if you would (if possible) give
the dates of birth/death of these Tamils and
also (if possible) some further biographical
details. In the meantime, your email will be
included at the next update of the Hundred
Tamils Forum page. Mikka
Nanri.
From
Japan: Sachi Sri
Kantha writes:
My selections
for 100 Influential Tamils of the 20th Century
are:
Legislators
C.Rajagopalachari
(1879-1972)/India - Governor General
S.J.V.Chelvanayakam (1898-1977)/
Eelam - Federal Party Leader
K.Kamaraj (1903-1975)/ India -
Congress Party leader
R.Venkatraman (1910- ) India -
Congress Party leader and President
C.Subramaniam (1910- )India -
Congress Party Finance Minister
S.Thondaman (1913-
)India-born, Sri Lanka - Ceylon Workers Congress
leader
Sinnathamby Rajaratnam (1915 - )/
Eelam-born, Singapore - Foreign
Minister
J.B.Jeyaratnam (1926- )/
Eelam-born, Singapore - Opposition
leader
A.Amirthalingam (1929- ) Eelam
- Federal Party leader and Leader of
Opposition
Social
Activists
U.Ve.Swaminatha
Aiyar (1855-1942)/ India - Tamil literature
archivist
Maraimalai
Adikal (1875?-1950) /India- 'Pure Tamil'
activist
Periyar E.V.Ramasamy
(1879-l973)/ India - Self Respect Movement
leader
C.N.Annadurai
(1909-1969)/India- founder of DMK and
polymath
M.P.Sivagnana Gramani / India- leader
of Congress and Tamil activist
V.Nedunchezhian (1920- )/
India - leader of DMK and later AIADMK
M.Karunanidhi (1924-
)/India - leader of DMK
V.Prabhakaran (1954- )/Eelam -
founder of LTTE
Literati
Subrahmanya Bharati (1882-
1921)/India -poet
Bharathidasan
(1891-1964)/India - poet
Kalki Krishnamoorthy (1899-1954)
India-novelist, journalist
R.K.Narayan (1906- )India-
novelist, essayist
M.Varatharajan
(1912-1974)/ India - novelist'
essayist
Koththamangalam Subbu / India -
poet
Sandilyan / India -
novelist
Akilan /India - novelist
Kavignar Kannadasan /India -
poet
S.Ponnudurai
(Es.Po) /Eelam-novelist
Artistes/Entertainers
Pammal Sambantha
Mudaliyar /India - dramatist
Kalaivanar N.S.Krishnan (
-1956) / India - humorist, movie actor
'Avvai'
T.K.Shanmugam -T.K.Bagavathi brothers /India
- dramatists
Rukmani Devi Arundale / India
- Bharata Natyam dancer, teacher
M.S.Subbhulakshmi (1916-
)/India - Carnatic Musician
M.G.Ramachandran (1917-1987)/ Sri
Lanka-born, India - movie actor and founder of
AIADMK
T.Balasaraswathi
(1914-1984)/ India - Bharata Natyam
dancer
Sivaji Ganesan (l928- )/
India- movie actor
K.Balachandar / India - movie
director]
Sirkali
Govindarajan / India - popular
vocalist
M.S.Visvanathan /India- music
director
Padma
Subrahmanyam /India - Bharata Natyam
dancer]
Entrepreneurs
'Gemini'
S.S.Vasan/ India - movie entrepreneur,
publisher
A.Y.S.Gnanam (St.Anthony's
Group) / Sri Lanka
Suresh Krishna (TVS
Group)/India
Annamalai
C.Muthiah (M.A.Chidambaram Group)/
India
T.Ananda
Krishnan / Eelam-born, Malaysia [see also
Petronas Twin
Towers]
Suppiah
Dhanapalan / Singapore - Cabinet Minister and
President of Singapore Air Lines
Commentators/
Critics/Caricaturists
Ananda
Coomaraswamy (1877-1947)/ Sri
Lankan-born/British-American - critic
Swami
Gnanaprakasar/ Eelam - commentator
Fr.S.Thaninayagam/ Eelam -
commentator
R.K.Laxman/ India
-cartoonist
A.K.Ramanujam/India -
translator
K.Kailasapathy/Eelam -
journalist, critic
Natural
Scientists
S.Ramanujan (1887-1920)/India
- mathematician
C.V.Raman
(1888-l970)/India - physicist
S.Chandrasekhar
(1910-1995)/India - physicist
C.J.Eliezer
(1918- )/Eelam - mathematician
Moncombu S.Swaminathan (1925-
)/India - agronomist
Abdul Kalam ( )/India -
nuclear scientist
Social
Scientists
K.Nilakanta Sastri /India -
historian
Stanley J.Tambiah /Eelam -
anthropologist
Religious
Dignitaries
Swami
Vipulananda/ Eelam - music scholar
Suddhanantha Bharathi/ India -
composer
Kirupanantha Vaariyar/ India -
popular expositor
Kunrakkudi Adigal/ India-
popular expositor
Sportsmen
Ramanathan Krishnan/ India -
tennis
Srinivas Venkatraghavan/
India- cricket
Krishnamachari Srikanth/ India -
cricket
Vijay Amritraj/ India -
tennis
Ramesh Krishnan/ India -
tennis
Muttiah Muralitharan/
Eelam - cricket
From
U.S.A: Ramalingam Shanmugalingam
writes:
vanhakkam, I am pleased to
give some information about Perungkavikko Sethuraman
who you may find qualifies as one of the hundred
Tamil greats of the twentieth century.... He is
not only a poet of international fame, he is a
warrior...
From New
Mexico: Vasan
writes:
வணக்கம்.
சிறப்பான
முதல்
நூறு
தமிழர்கள்
பட்டியலில்
தமிழக
அரசியல்
தலைவர்கள்
சிலர்
பெயர்களும்
இருப்பதை
கண்டேன்.
என்னுடைய
தாழ்மையான
ஒரு
விண்ணப்பம்
- அந்த
பட்டியலில்
அமரர்.காமராசரின்
பெயர்
இல்லாதது
ஆச்சிரியமாய்
உள்ளது,உடன்
அவர்
பெயரையும்
இணைக்கக்
கேட்டுக்
கொள்கிறேன்.
- மிக்க
நன்றி.
Response from
tamilnation: Many thanks
for your suggestion. We will include Kamraj (at the next)
update
From
Canada: Senthuran Nadarajah suggests for
inclusion in list of Hundred Tamils:
1) Valvettithurai Sea Farers 2)
Navaratnasamy who swam the Palk
Straits for the first time. 3) Kumar Anandan who entered
the Guinness record book seven times and also
made many other records which were amazing. 4)
Velupillai
Pirabaharan, leader of Tamil Eelam