Scholars see Telugu, Mesopotamia link

Miss. Samyuktha Kooniah, M.A.(Ph.D),discovered the forgotten and the missing link between Telmun and Andhra Pradesh In the year 1990,In Bahrain (Arabian-Gulf),Since then she is working very hard to bring it to light. and she says -

" I am glad to share my work with the world so that the Telugu language gets its right-full place in history,and I strongly condemn Intellectual theft and stealers like Dr.Sanganabatla Narasiah. To share knowledge is power , to steal it is demeaning."

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Karimnagar, Feb. 4: Hurt by the Centre’s refusal to grant ancient language status to Telugu, renowned scholars and historians have presented new evidence to prove that the language is at least 4,000 years old. The overlooked historical nuggets brought out by scholars would give added strength to the agitation by literary organisations and political parties to achieve ancient language status for Telugu.

Both Tamil and Sanskrit had recently been conferred ancient language status by the Union government. Apparently realising that this had hurt people’s pride, the State government has decided to collect all relevant manuscripts to stake a similar claim for Telugu. Historians and literary scholars have made the government’s job easier by drawing attention to forgotten facts that prove the long history of the language.

Though conventionally Telugu is supposed to date back to the 11th century AD, scholars say that there is enough evidence to prove that it is thousands of years old.

“Experts like Edward Thomas had established the link between Dravidian, Brahmi and Cuneiform scripts,” he said. “Prof. James Edgar Swain had traced the trade ties that flourished between the Telmun region in India and the Babylonian and Assyrian kingdoms in Mesopotamia region since 300 BC.” Sumerians claimed to be Telimans who had migrated from the Telivaha river banks. References made in the Buddhist epic Sheravaniya about Telivaha river lend credence to the belief that the river was Godavari.

“This proves that Telimans hailed from the region spread along the Godavari river in the Telugu heartland,” he said. Excavations at Ur city in Mesopotamia and discovery of primitive Telugu words such as Abba, Ser and Aqqu in the cuneiform tablets corroborated this theory.

The Telimans who migrated from the Godavari belt carried with them another Dravidian language, Brahui. The language, similar to Telugu, is prevalent among migrant communities in the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan, he said.

Similarity of megalithic graveyards unearthed during excavations at Markuk of Manjeera valley with burial sites discovered at Kirkuk in Iraq substantiated the fact that Sumerians hailed from “Telugu land” and the language spread overseas thousands of years ago, he contended.

According to scholars, the criterion adopted by the Centre in granting the status was unfair. Instead of depending on manuscripts alone, the government should take a more comprehensive view, they feel.

Telangana Writer’s Forum District President D. Narahari Acharya said that the Centre should also peruse ancient inscriptions found at at Godisala, Sanigaram and other places which gave valuable information on the evolution of Telugu script. Meanwhile, the Telugu Desam is also planning to spearhead a movement to achieve ancient language status for Telugu.

Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle

Keywords: Telugu , Andhra Pradesh , ancient classical language status demand , TCLD2006 , India Indian