Pampa helps Telangana confirm Telugu's classical status

The Madras High Court on Monday upheld the Centre's decision to accord classical status to Telugu, dismissing a petition filed against Telugu and many other languages such as Kannada and Malayalam.

 

After examining the affidavits filed by Telangana and other South Indian state governments, and considering the conditions for classical language status as laid down by the Centre, a bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan dismissed a PIL filed by R Gandhi, opposing the granting of the coveted status to Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam etc.

 

"From the records, it is evident that the expert body was satisfied that the languages comply with the eligibility criteria. Therefore, this Court cannot go into the opinion and finding of the expert body," the Bench said. 

 

"Every language is a temple in which the soul of those who speak is enshrined..." the Court declared, quoting the words of American author Oliver Wendell Holmes. It collectively disposed of a batch of PILs filed against the Centre's decision.

 

The Union government had announced classical language status for Telugu in 2006. R Gandhi, who is a senior advocate from Tamil Nadu, later filed a PIL in the Madras High Court, questioning the Centre's decision. 

 

In response to the PIL, the then government of united Andhra Pradesh had filed a counter affidavit in 2008, explaining the antiquity of Telugu in general, focusing on ancient Telugu scriptures and writing. 

 

The argument of Andhra Pradesh revolved around the poet Nannaya, from the 11th century, who is commonly seen as the first Telugu poet. 

 

However, that argument restricts the ancestry of Telugu to 900 years. 

 

Advocate Gandhi picked up this point in his response, claiming that 900 years was insufficient, since as per the Centre's guidelines, a 'classical' language should have a literary history of over a 1000 years. Another factor Gandhi raised was the mix of Sanskrit in Nannaya's great Telugu work 'Mahabharatam'. This, Gandhi appealed, also goes against the Centre's criterion for granting classical language status. 

 

For the next six years, the case did not go far, even as the political situation in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh changed dramatically. 

 

Read more: Telangana wants to usurp Kannada's Adikavi Pampa

 

After the formation of Telangana in 2014, the ruling TRS government began hunting for historical evidence for the existence of Telugu before Nannaya. Politics played a large role in that search, as Nannaya is from coastal Andhra, a region no longer in Telangana. 

 

The TRS wanted a Telugu poet of their own, preferably one older than Nannaya, who was now seen in Telangana's political circles as 'Andhra's' poet. 

 

The politicians focused on the great Kannada poet Pampa, who matched a few of these requirements. Currently, Pampa is recognised as the Adikavi of Kannada and considered one of the three 'jewels' of Kannada literature. His greatest and most famous works are also in Kannada.  

 

The then ongoing case proved a perfect opportunity to begin the journey away from 'Andhra's' Nannaya and towards 'Telangana's' Pampa. 

 

After gathering evidence on Pampa, the Telangana government filed another affidavit in the case in April 2015. 

 

The Telangana government took pains to prove that Pampa, who lived near Vemulavada in what is now Telangana between 902 AD and 975 AD, was actually the first poet of Telugu. 

 

It produced inscriptional and other historical evidence before the Court to prove that Pampa had written in Telugu as well, claiming that this made him the Adikavi of Telugu also. Telangana also submitted the findings of the archaeological excavations conducted at Kotilingala and Dhulikatta. 

 

Convinced by the state government's arguments and on a re-examination of the Centre's criterion, the Court dismissed the writ petition.

 

In the light of the new findings and the High Court judgement, the Telangana government will soon take an official stand and recognise Kannada Adikavi, Mahakavi Pampa, as the Telugu Adikavi also. 

 

An official decision is necessary to include Pampa as the Adikavi of Telugu in textbooks in educational curriculums, said a senior official from the Telangana government.

 

So Pampa's transformation into a Telugu poet seems to have well and truly begun in Telangana.