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Chennai: The International Conference on Tirukkural, which begins in Nagercoil (headquarters of Kanyakumari district in the state) from Wednesday will urge the Unesco to declare the everlasting masterpiece - Tirukkural, authored by Tamil savant Tiruvalluvar about 2,000 years ago, as the “Book of the World.”
The Tirukkural, composed in classical Tamil, has acquired the status of scriptural authority as a canon informing the behaviour of Tamils in their day-to- day interpersonal relations all over the world and it richly deserves to be declared as the “Book of the World.”
“We shall pass a resolution at the conference urging Unesco to declare it as Book of the World. Also, we have planned to conduct the next Tirukkural conference on the premises of Unesco in Paris in 2020,” says Dr G. John Samuel, Founder-Director, Institute of Asian Studies, Sholinganallur, here. Prof. Armoogum Parsuramen, chairman, International Association of Tamil Diaspora (INTAD), Mauritius., would preside over the conference.
The three-day event, which will be held from May 17 at Scott Christian College, Nagercoil will see the presentation of 130 research papers. “A 550-page souvenir will be released on the occasion. Scholars from 20 nations would participate in addition to the scholars from various parts of India,” Dr. Samuel said.
The conference is being held under the joint auspice of Institute of Asian Studies, Chennai, and International Association of Tamil Diaspora (INTAD), Mauritius.
Close to Nagercoil, is the majestic 133 feet high Tiruvalluvar statue gracing the confluence of the tri-seas off the coast of Kanyakumari, along with the Vivekananda Rock Memorial.