DMK general secretary and Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan, on Friday, said that voracious reading of Tamil history, culture and the language would make members of the students wing of the Dravidian party, ideologically stronger.
Inaugurating a three-day training-cum-workshop for district organisers and deputy organisers of the DMK from nine northern districts, organised by the DMK’s students wing at Yelagiri Hills in Tirupattur, Mr. Duraimurugan said that students had formed the foundation of the DMK since its formation decades ago. In that context, enriching the student community in the party with the rich past of Tamil culture, history and the Dravidian movement would help them shape themselves ideologically, he said.
The Minister asked students to read about well-known Dravidian leaders like E.V. Ramasamy Periyar and C.N. Annadurai, and their speeches given at public meetings. “Although we are digitally more oriented through mobile phones, students should spend time with books related to Tamil history and culture. Vast reading will help them face any challenge in their lives,” he said. Further, he said that such reading would help students to shape their ideas about various issues that affect people in day-to-day life. It would also help them to express themselves in debates and public meetings.
Highlighting the importance of such workshops for students in the party, Mr. Duraimurugan said that these workshops provide a platform for young speakers to express themselves and also to mould them into becoming good orators. In the initial years of its formation, the DMK has organised several such workshops for its young cadres as it helped them to understand various subjects like the self-respect movement, the movement against Hindi imposition and Dravidian history. “As general secretary of the party, I have been insisting on the conducting of such workshops for young cadres in the party. Such workshops should be held regularly,” he said.
District organisers and deputy organisers from Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Ranipet, Vellore, Tirupattur, Tiruvannamalai, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri attended the workshop, which comprises 15 sessions and will conclude on October 29. Eminent speakers like Subbaiah Veerapandian, also known as Subavee, will provide insights on various topics at the workshop.
C.V.M.P. Ezhilarasan, K. Devaraji, A. P. Nandakumar and A Nallathambi, MLAs of Kancheepuram, Jolarpet, Anaicut (Vellore) and Tirupattur, also participated on the occasion.
