Keep Tamil language vibrant for subsequent 50 years: Singapore Minister Shanmugam

Singapore Minister Shanmugam. File
| Photo Credit: X/@kshanmugam

A Singapore Minister has referred to as on the following era to maintain the Tamil language vibrant for the following 50 years.

Calling on the cosmopolitan metropolis’s subsequent era to take cost, Law Minister Ok. Shanmugam mentioned: “To keep Tamil vibrant for the next 50 years, we need young pioneers like you to lead the way.” The Minister, who speaks fluent Tamil shared his views because the National University of Singapore Tamil Language (NUS TLS) Society celebrated its 50^th anniversary on May 17, reflecting on 5 many years of language promotion, scholar management and cultural innovation.

Mr. Shanmugam, who was guest-of-honour and NUS TLS alumnus, counseled the society’s contributions over the previous 5 many years but in addition voiced concern about the way forward for Tamil in public life, a Singapore weekly reported on Friday (May 23, 2025).

“We have to ask ourselves if, in 20 or 30 years, we’ll still have Ministers who can speak fluent Tamil on stage,” he mentioned, noting a broader decline in Tamil utilization, even past Parliament. Tamil is likely one of the 4 official languages in Singapore, the opposite being English, Chinese and Malay, and was spoken extensively within the island state, with a few of the Parliamentarians within the Sixties-70s debating in Tamil in the home. Mr. Shanmugam identified that many younger folks converse primarily English, a pattern that impacts not solely Tamil but in addition different mom tongue languages comparable to Mandarin (Chinese) and Malay.

Currently, there may be one Tamil language newspaper, Tamil Murasu, that has been in circulation because it was launched in May 1936.

“We also need to ask ourselves whether Tamil can continue to be regarded as a respected language by those who do not speak it,” the Minister was quoted as saying by Friday weekly Tabla! He harassed the necessity to make Tamil accessible and interesting, even for non-speakers, and highlighted the significance of listening to the language in casual areas past school rooms and group centres.

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Held on the Serangoon Gardens Country Club within the suburb housing conclave, the celebration introduced collectively previous and current members of the society, lots of whom reunited after years. The night featured scholar performances and nostalgic recollections of landmark programmes that formed Tamil cultural engagement on campus and past. Founded in 1975 with solely a handful of members, the society has since grown considerably, with the present forty sixth govt committee persevering with its custom of mixing language advocacy with student-led group initiatives.

Multi-national Singapore’s six million inhabitants has 75% Chinese, principally talking Mandarin, over 15% Malays, and greater than 7% Indians in addition to others.