As part of SG60 celebrations, a new 10-episode documentary series titled Tamizh shines a light on the resilience and growth of the Tamil language in Singapore through the decades.
The 10-part series, directed by veteran media practitioner Mohamed Ali, founder of TheMedia, retraces the struggles and triumphs of pioneers who fought to preserve the language amid challenges.
The series highlights the contributions of key Tamil organisations including the Tamil Language Learning and Promotion Committee (TLLPC), Tamil Language Council (TLC), Singapore’s only Tamil daily newspaper, the Tamil Murasu and Mediacorp’s Tamil news, radio and television divisions.
It revisits their histories, carries rare archival materials and documents, and features interviews of people who played and are playing pivotal roles in keeping the language alive.
The documentary is funded by the three organisations, along with MES Group of Companies and Mediacorp.
It also features AI-generated videos of late pioneers, including “Thamizhavel” G. Sarangapany, founder of Tamil Murasu and a pioneer community leader.
“We live in 2025 and enjoy the strong presence of Tamil in Singapore today, but the journey here was never easy,” said Mr Ali. “We felt it was important to document these efforts, so that even a hundred years from now, people will understand, appreciate and take pride in the struggles that kept our language and heritage alive in Singapore.”
TLC chairman Naseer Ghani, TLLPC deputy chairman T Chandroo and Tamil Murasu editor T Raja Segar commended the series for capturing an important chapter of Singapore’s cultural history and appreciated the efforts that went behind.
The series, commissioned by Mediacorp, launched on Sept 17. It will be aired every Thursday at 9.30pm on Vasantham.
