India and Malaysia connected by ‘shared affection’ for Tamil: PM Modi

Kuala Lumpur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India and Malaysia are connected by a shared affection for the Tamil, underlining the strong presence of the language in education, media, and cultural life in the country.  Malaysia is home to nearly three million people of Indian descent, the second largest in the world, with an overwhelming majority of Tamil origin.

“India and Malaysia are also connected by a shared affection for the Tamil language. In Malaysia, the strong and vibrant presence of Tamil is visible in education, media, and cultural life,” PM Modi said while speaking to the media. 

“I am confident that today’s audio-visual agreement will bring our hearts even closer through films and music, especially Tamil cinema,” Modi added. 

Earlier in the day, PM Modi pointed out that his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim is a “big fan” of MGR, just like “several of us in India”, as a song from the Tamil actor's movie Naalai Namathe was presented during a lunch hosted for the Indian leader.

Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR, was a popular Indian actor, director and producer who founded Tamil Nadu’s All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagami (AIADMK) party and went on to become Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister. He died in 1987.  Naalai Namadhe is one of the actor’s several blockbusters, released in 1975. 

“At the lunch hosted by my friend, PM Anwar Ibrahim, one of the songs sung was Naalai Namathe, from a movie starring the great MGR!,” PM Modi posted on X.  Modi added that “PM Anwar Ibrahim, like several of us in India, is a big fan of MGR!” Addressing a community programme on Saturday, Modi also said that the Indian diaspora continues to serve as a strong bridge between India and Malaysia.

He said that, inspired by this history, India had established the Thiruvalluvar Chair at the University of Malaya and would now set up a Thiruvalluvar centre to further strengthen shared heritage.