Last modified: 2016-07-19 by ian macdonald
Keywords: naam tamilar katchi | tamil nadu |
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image by Tomislav Todorovic, 26 June 2016
Naam Tamilar Katchi ("We Are Tamils Party") is a Tamil nationalist party
which was originally founded in 1958 by the lawyer S. P. Adithan Nadar (also
known as Adithanar), with the goal of creating an independent Tamil state, which
would comprise Tamil-speaking areas of India and Sri Lanka. Following poor
election results, the party allied itself with the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham and
eventually merged into it in 1967. In 2009, it was refounded by former movie
director and actor Senthamizhan Seeman under the name Naam Tamilar Iyakkam ("We
Are Tamils Organization") and readopted the original name in 2010. The refounded
party and its leader have been known for strong support to the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Party flag is red, charged with the tiger
head in proper colors surrounded with golden rays [1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. It is
clearly derived from the flag of Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam but omits the rifles and tiger's paws and replaces the circle of
bullets with simple rays. There is also a vertical variant of the flag, which
seems to be rarely used [9]. The size of emblem may vary somewhat; it is usually
smaller when the words *NAAM TAMILAR* are inscribed in Tamil in the bottom,
usually in white [5, 11, 12], but also in gold [14].
image
by Tomislav Todorovic, 26 June 2016
The original party flag [2,
15, 16] was displaying a leaping demi-tiger instead of the head only. The tiger
was chosen as the
symbol of medieval Chola dynasty [15]. It was not used for
a long time - the current flag ha appeared as early as in 2011 [17].
Sources:
[1] Naam Tamilar
Katchi at Wikipedia (in English)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naam_Tamilar_Katchi
[2] Naam Tamilar Katchi at Wikipedia (in Tamil):
https://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/
[3] Adithanar's biography at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._P._Adithanar
[4] Seeman's biography at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seeman_(politician)
[5] Naam Tamilar Katchi website:
http://www.naamtamilar.org/
[6] Naam Tamilar Katchi website:
http://www.naamtamilar.org/
[7] Naam Tamilar Katchi website:
http://www.naamtamilar.org/
[8] Naam Tamilar Katchi website:
http://www.naamtamilar.org/
[9] Naam Tamilar Katchi website:
http://www.naamtamilar.org/
[10] Naam Tamilar Katchi website:
http://www.naamtamilar.org/
[11] Naam Tamilar Katchi website:
http://www.naamtamilar.org/
[12] Naam Tamilar Katchi website:
http://www.naamtamilar.org/
[13] OneIndia portal - section in Tamil language:
http://tamil.oneindia.com/news/india/naam-tamilar-party-protest-front-salman-khan-s-house-218275.html
[14] ILuvCinema.in website:
http://www.iluvcinema.in/tamil/naam-tamilar-katchi-ina-ezhuchi-manadu-trichy-photos/
[15] Kolly Talk website:
http://www.kollytalk.com/cinenews/seemans-naam-tamilar-party-flag-unveiled-1259.html
[16] Moviegalleri website:
http://moviegalleri.net/2010/05/madurai-naam-thamizhar-maanadu-photos-seeman-naam-tamilar-manadu-stills.html
[17] The Hindu newspaper online edition - issue of 2011-12-27:
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/mullaperiyar-dam-issue-protests-continue/article2750775.ece
Tomislav Todorovic, 26 June 2016