TAMIL REVIVALISM AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF LINGUISTIC NATIONALISM IN TAMILNADU IN THE 19 & 20 TH CENTURIES

The Renaissance of the language of any people would remind a people of their identity and transform their goal from cherishing a cultural tradition into a political demand of National independence. The English education and the literary, philological and intellectual contributions of Christian missionaries like Constantine Beschi, Caldwell and G.U Pope and the contribution of a few Tamil poets and spiritualists caused awakening among the Tamil intellectuals. Their contributions supplied the energy needed for the Tamil revivalism which led to Tamil Linguistic Nationalism in the 20 th century. A tradition of ideology continued to flow