Indian and Sri Lankan Languages

• The major social groups of Sri Lanka are Sinhalese (major ruling community) and Sri Lankan Tamils (majority group in Northern territories of Sri Lanka).
• After Independence, Sinhalese followed several majoritarian measures to establish Sinhalese supremacy.
• Sinhala was recognized as the official language of Sri Lanka in 1956.
• Now both Sinhala and Tamil are the official language of Sri Lanka.
  

The Sinhala Only Bill, formally known as The Official Language Act 1956 passed by the government of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) made Sinhalese the official language of the country. Sirimavo Bandaranaike then PM of Sri Lanka realized her campaign promise by passing the Bill, an agenda which won her 1956 general elections. This decision was violently opposed by Tamil speaking minority and the passage of bill followed rioting.   

Manimekalai is one of The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature according to later Tamil literary tradition. It is written by the poet Chithalai Chathanar. Its story is a sequel of an epic ‘Silappatikaram’ that tells the story of the conversion to Buddhism of the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi.

Both statements are correct: South Indian literature includes the four major Dravidian languages, and Tamil literature is the oldest, having been refined through the three Sangam assemblies.

The Sangam period refers to the ancient period of South Indian history, specifically the Tamil-speaking regions. Tamil is the classical language in which the literature of this era was composed.

It is generally believed that Malayalam has evolved from Tamil. Sanskrit also has greatly influenced the development of Malayalam. Vattezhuthu and Kolezhuthu were the scripts used to write old Malayalam.

Krishnagatha by Cherussery, Adhyatma Ramayanam Kilippattu and Mahabharatham Kilippattu by Ezhuthachan, Thullal literature of Kunchan Nambiar, etc. contributed to the development of the Malayalam language.

The Mohiyudheen Mala written in Arabi Malayalam by Quazi Muhammed in the 17th century and Puthanpana written by Arnos Pathiri in the 18th century enriched the language.

During the emergence of the Bhakti movement caste system become very rigid and Hindu religion had some rigid rituals which became difficult to fulfill by common people. So to save Hindu religion Bhakti movement was started. All the saints of this movement used regional language to preach their ideas so that it could be understood by the common people. They stressed equality and to live a simple life. They denied superstitious cults and ritualism. They preached that God can be attained by devotion.

The Chola Dynasty primarily patronized Tamil, which was the language of the people and administration. Sanskrit was also used extensively for religious and scholarly purposes.

The word 'yoga' is derived from the Sanskrit root 'yuj', which means 'to join', 'to yoke', or 'to unite'. This reflects the practice's goal of uniting individual consciousness with universal consciousness.

While Sanskrit is still used in religious rituals and spoken by a very small number of scholars and villagers, it is no longer used as a common, everyday spoken language by the general public in India.

Sanskrit is the ancient classical language of India in which the Vedas and other sacred Hindu texts were written. It is an Indo-European language that served as the liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.

Sanskrit is the ancient liturgical language of Hinduism and the primary language of the Vedas. It served as the scholarly and religious language of early India.

Sanskrit was the primary sacred language of ancient India and the language of many classical Hindu texts. Although it is no longer a widely spoken primary language, it is still used in religious ceremonies and spoken by a small number of people today.

Sanskrit is the ancient liturgical language of Hinduism and the language in which the Vedas and many other classical Indian texts were written. It is considered the root of many modern Indian languages.