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This book looks at movements of communities which formed the lower
and middle rungs of society in medieval and early colonial India.
It presents migration, mobility and memories from a specifically
Indian perspective, breaking away from previous Eurocentric
studies. The essays in the volume focus on labour, peasant and
craft migrations, and in fleshing out the causes and trajectories
taken by these communities, they speak to each other by addressing
similar issues as well as documenting varying responses to
analogous situations. A fascinating history of migrations of
'people from below', the volume adopts a trans-disciplinary
approach and uses inscriptions, official records, and literary
texts along with community narratives and folk tradition. This will
be of great interest to scholars and students of migration and
diaspora studies, medieval and modern South Asian history, social
anthropology and subaltern studies.
The Tamils have an unbroken history of more than two thousand
years. Tamil, the language they speak, is one of the oldest living
languages in the world. The only people comparable to the Tamils in
terms of their hoary past and vibrant present would be the Jews
with one marked difference. The Tamils have always had their
homeland 'Tamilaham' (alternately pronounced and spelt
'Tamizhaham') known today as Tamil Nadu which to them represents
their mother and is revered by them as 'Tamizh Tai' literally
'Tamil Mother'. This is in striking contrast to the Jews who have
been through a long and arduous struggle to gain their homeland, a
deeply contested site to this day with Hebrewisation of Israel
being a key marker of Jewish identity in the region. Tamils, by
contrast have a clear numerical majority in the region that now
comprises Tamil Nadu and the language unites rather than divides
adherents of different faiths. The second edition of Historical
Dictionary of the Tamils contains a chronology, an introduction,
and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 600
cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics,
economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an
excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to
know more about the Tamils.
This book looks at movements of communities which formed the lower
and middle rungs of society in medieval and early colonial India.
It presents migration, mobility and memories from a specifically
Indian perspective, breaking away from previous Eurocentric
studies. The essays in the volume focus on labour, peasant and
craft migrations, and in fleshing out the causes and trajectories
taken by these communities, they speak to each other by addressing
similar issues as well as documenting varying responses to
analogous situations. A fascinating history of migrations of
'people from below', the volume adopts a trans-disciplinary
approach and uses inscriptions, official records, and literary
texts along with community narratives and folk tradition. This will
be of great interest to scholars and students of migration and
diaspora studies, medieval and modern South Asian history, social
anthropology and subaltern studies.
The cultural heritage of the Tamils dates back two thousand years.
As a language, Tamil has existed since the pre-Christian era,
around the same time as the early classical languages Hebrew and
Sankrit. The first book on Tamil grammar, the Tolkappiyam, was
written around the fifth century BCE. Today, Tamil cuisine has
captured the imagination of the vegetarian world, and Tamil cinema,
with its heavy political allegories and opera style music, is
popular across the globe. Not confined to their homeland of Tamil
Nadu, the Tamils constitute a powerful diaspora in Sri Lanka (where
they are fighting for their political rights), Singapore (where
Tamil is one of the national languages), and Malaysia. The diaspora
extends to places as far flung as the U.K., the U.S., and
Australia. Tamil temples and cultural centers can be found
everywhere from Pittsburgh to San Francisco and from Texas to
Toronto. The A to Z of the Tamils presents a vivid picture of the
Tamils' cultural and literary traditions, both the historic past
and the vibrant present. This is done through a chronology, an
introductory essay, a bibliography, black and white photos, maps,
and over 500 cross-referenced dictionary entries covering Tamil
history from the megalithic age to present day and Tamil
personalities, economics, literature, music, politics, and cinema.
This one-volume reference is an excellent entry point into a deeper
understanding of the cultural milieu of the Tamils.
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