Tamil is the rst non-European language to be printed

The credit for coining the salutation ‘Jai Hind’, which instilled a patriotic sense in leaders of the pre-Independence days, goes to Chempakaraman Pillai in 1907. Born to Tamil parents in the princely State of Travancore, the revolutionary leader inspired Subhas Chandra Bose to adopt the slogan at a meeting in Vienna.

Sivakasi witnessed communal riots in 1899. A report that a section of Nadars had clandestinely entered a Siva temple against customs in 1895 set off the riots. When the situation worsened, the military was called in. About 150 villages were attacked and 1,600-4,000 houses were destroyed in the riots.

Madras was the earliest Indian city to have had an established Municipal Corporation (in the 1680s). But it was slow in adopting the elective principle in the local bodies. A significant stride was made only when the Municipal Act of 1884 was passed. It helped to increase the number of elected members in the Corporation Council.

Around 150 Adi Dravidar families embraced Islam at Meenakshipuram in Tirunelveli in 1981. Their decision had a ripple effect on other parts of Tamil Nadu.

It was reported that over 2,000 families had renounced Hinduism in a span of eight months, as against 1,500 between 1944 and 1980.

Tamil became the first non-European language to be printed in a press, thanks to lexicographer and grammarian Fr. Henriques. The Portuguese man of Jewish ancestry studied Tamil in depth and set up the first press in Tamil to print Christian literature such as Thambiran Vanakkam. (Compiled by R. Sai Venkatesh)