Foundation and Vision
Eight Decades of Tamil Valarchi Kazhagam: The Tamil Valarchi Kazhagam was founded in 1946 under the Registration of Societies Act by T S Avinashilingam Chettiar, a noted educationist and former Education Minister of the then Madras Presidency. From its base at the Chepauk campus of the University of Madras, the organisation has steadily worked for the promotion of Tamil language and literature.
Static GK fact: The University of Madras was established in 1857, making it one of the oldest universities in India.
Leadership and Governance
The Kazhagam is currently led by P Chidambaram, former Union Finance Minister and Home Affairs Minister, who serves as the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees. Under his guidance, the institution has expanded its scope and aligned with modern technological initiatives.
Digital Transformation Projects
One of the most ambitious initiatives of the Kazhagam is the project to digitise Tamil literature. Using optical character recognition (OCR), scanned Tamil texts on the internet are being converted into searchable content. To strengthen this effort, the Kazhagam has partnered with Wikipedia and the Central Institute of Classical Tamil.
Static GK fact: Tamil was declared a Classical Language of India in 2004, the first Indian language to receive this status.
Financial Support and Government Role
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has extended financial backing of ₹2.15 crore for the ongoing activities of the Kazhagam. This highlights the state’s consistent policy of promoting Tamil heritage, research, and educational resources.
Static GK fact: The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly passed the Tamil Nadu Official Language Act in 1956, declaring Tamil as the official language of the state.
Scholarly Publications
Over the years, the Kazhagam has created a wide repository of reference works. These include 10 volumes of Tamil encyclopaedia, 10 volumes of children’s literature, 13 volumes on medicine, and 7 volumes on Siddha medicine. These publications have become essential sources for students, researchers, and the Tamil diaspora.
Ongoing Research Initiatives
The organisation is currently executing six major projects, including a Tamil-Tamil-English student dictionary, aimed particularly at Tamil diaspora children. This project is expected to be completed within a year. Other notable projects are an encyclopedia of Tamil dramaturgy, an encyclopedia of thoughts in Tamil, Tamil word coinage, and a Tamilogy article archive.
Static GK Tip: Siddha medicine is one of the oldest traditional medical systems, originating in Tamil Nadu over 2000 years ago.
Cultural Significance
Celebrating 80 years in September 2025, the Tamil Valarchi Kazhagam stands as a testimony to the resilience of Tamil scholarship. Its contribution ensures that Tamil continues to thrive not only as a spoken language but also as a modern medium of knowledge in science, medicine, and literature.
Static Usthadian Current Affairs Table
Eight Decades of Tamil Valarchi Kazhagam:
| Topic | Detail |
| Year of establishment | 1946 |
| Founder | T S Avinashilingam Chettiar |
| Campus base | Chepauk, University of Madras |
| Current Chairperson | P Chidambaram |
| Milestone year | 80th year in 2025 |
| Financial support | ₹2.15 crore by Tamil Nadu Government |
| Key partnership | Wikipedia and Central Institute of Classical Tamil |
| Major publications | 10 encyclopaedia volumes, 10 children’s literature, 13 medicine, 7 Siddha medicine |
| Ongoing projects | Tamil dictionary, dramaturgy encyclopedia, thoughts encyclopedia, Tamil word coinage, Tamilogy archive |
| Focus technology | Optical character recognition (OCR) |
