CHENNAI: Thirty two Members of Parliament (MP) belonging to different parties have written to President Ram Nath Kovind to advise the Central government to disband the expert committee set up by the Union Ministry of Culture.
The expert committee was set up to study the origin and evolution of Indian culture dating back to 12, 000 years.
The MPs said India is having a great legacy of pluralism in its evolution and study naturally requires inputs from diverse cultures of the great nation.
"We wish to bring to your kind attention that there is no reflection of such pluralistic society in this 16 member study group. There are no South Indians, Northeast Indians, minorities, Dalits or women. Almost all the members of the said committee belong to certain specific social groups which are in top of the Caste hierarchy of the Indian society, " their letter noted.
The MPs mostly from Tamil Nadu doubted the intention of the constitution of the committee neglecting gender sensitivity and diverse nationalities and social groups in the country.
On Wednesday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K.Palaniswami had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to reconstitute the expert committee.
"The said committee has no representative from any of the Southern states, especially from Tamil Nadu which has a glorious past and was home to one of the oldest civilisations, viz. Dravidian civilization -- a living and thriving culture in the South of India, " Palaniswami said.
"The recent archaeological excavations in Keezhadi and other parts of Tamil Nadu reveal that the world reputed Sangam era can now be dated back to as early as the 6th century BCE. This places Tamil culture and language as one of the oldest surviving heritages in the world, " Palaniswami added.
Given this background, it was surprising that the Ministry of Culture has chosen to ignore the experts from Tamil Nadu while setting up the committee, the Chief Minister added.