Being Proud of My Chola Heritage

There are several empires in the world. So why do historians call the Cholas "The world's most remarkable empire"? Because they were so ahead of their time. A thousand years ago, they conducted democratic local body elections, empowered women, and had the highest literacy rate in the world. Literature and the arts flourished under the Chola empire. In its heyday, it was one of the half-dozen greatest powers on Earth. The Imperial Chola empire covered more than a million square kilometres. It included India, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, the Maldives and Bangladesh. 

Their blue water navy could only be compared to the influence of the modern US Navy. The entire Bay of Bengal Sea was once called "Chola Lake". In addition to having more than a million men, the Chola Navy was technologically ahead of its time. Due to deep hull innovations in their ships, the Chola navy could send soldiers on short notice to anywhere in Asia. Their navy operated in both the Indian and Pacific oceans and fought battles across 2,000 miles of ocean. The US and UK are the only superpowers in the world with similar capabilities today.

The Chola empire was a golden era for women in medieval history. Women also played a crucial role in the empire's administration. They were appointed as nobles and chief advisers. In addition to these, they were also considered good ambassadors and played a significant role in promoting peace between the empires. Breaking the stereotype that women are physically incompetent for combat, women were deployed in the army and navy in various capacities. Women warriors were revered in the Chola empire.

One of the major pillars of women's empowerment, financial independence was enjoyed by the women of the Chola kingdom. Although society was still largely patriarchal, women also had exclusive property rights. Husbands could not appropriate their wife's property without their permission. Chola Empire women enjoyed the right to choose their life partners.

The empire also increased local government's importance and institutionalisation. Each group of five to 10 villages had an elected district council. This council had endless subcommittees dealing with everything from land rights to irrigation, law and order to food storage. Every household in a district had the right to vote - and councils enjoyed considerable power. 

While the imperial Chola empire lasted for more than three centuries, they maintained a light hand. Local responsibility for local affairs was encouraged. Newly conquered rulers except in a few rare cases were generally allowed to keep their titles and lands under ultimate Chola control as tributary states. They redistributed the wealth back to people via donations and grants making everybody richer. 

Chola art and architecture are among the finest in the world. The Cholas built more temples than any other Indian kingdom. Each temple was a masterpiece. At the very centre of their empire, there are still 40 Chola temples in an area half the size of Greater London. The most spectacular structure is the 63m-high pyramid-shaped central shrine in Thanjavur, one of the wonders of the medieval world. 

In cast bronze sculpture and hard-stone sculpture, the Chola artistry and craftsmanship is unsurpassed. The Cholas not only nurtured an artistic boom; they also fostered massive education expansion. Political stability and imperial grants - both to the temples that ran education and to the students themselves - led to the expansion of local schools and elite colleges. Some estimates suggest that literacy rose to around 20% - the highest in the medieval world.

A consequence of this high level of education was an increase in the intellectual boom. One of the greatest Indian religious thinkers - the 11th-century philosopher Ramanuja - was a Chola product. In many ways, he founded Hindu monotheism. World-renowned Tamil poet "Kamban" also belonged to the Chola Empire. The greatest epic in the Tamil language was written by him. There were several Chola emperors who were also poets. It was under their leadership that all surviving Tamil literary works written from the start of the Tamil language were protected, compiled and taught. In the Chola era, Tamil classical music and dance flourished as well. 

As the Chola kings redistributed their massive wealth via large donations, and grants and heavily invested in agriculture and infrastructure, people became richer and better off. A civilizational golden age began in the Tamil heartland of the empire which then spread throughout Asia. Cholas had the greatest cultural influence on Asian history in areas like art, literature, education, and architecture.

For example, Cambodian king Suryavarman II who built the Angkor Wat temple was both an ally and tributary of the Chola empire since 1114. In 1145, when Suryavarman was in a venerable position against the rival Champa kingdom, Kulothunga Chola II even sent the entire Chola forces stationed to protect their vassal states in southeast Asia to conquer the Champa kingdom. Suryavarman's reign saw remarkable innovations in art and architecture due to Chola presence. The Angkor Wat complex, the largest temple complex in the world today and is one of the finest examples of Chola influence on Asian architecture. 

The model of the Angkor Wat and the architecture was that of the Cholas. The Cholas were the greatest temple builders of their time. The Brihadishvara Temple built in 1010 CE in Tanjore, Tamilnadu by the Cholas was the tallest building in the world at the time. Since the Cholas wanted to keep it that way, in Angkor Wat, the tower above the central shrine only rises to 65 m (213 ft) above the ground. This is just 1 meter shorter than Brihadishvara Temple which stands at 66 m (217 ft).

During the Chola period, Indian languages like Tamil, Sanskrit and Pali had a considerable long-term impact on the linguistic and intellectual cultures of South East Asia. For example, Sri Lumay Chola, a minor prince of the Chola dynasty was sent with a Chola expeditionary force to the Philippines to establish a forward base. The Philippine archipelago was strategically positioned in Southeast Asia and thus became part of ancient trade routes.  Sri Lumay Chola founded the Cebu kingdom in the Philippines. Cebuano language and culture, as well as religious practices and common vocabulary words derived from Chola influence. I can give you so many similar examples of cultural influence.  It is indeed true that the Chola empire was one of the most remarkable empires in the world in every respect. The Cholas left a lasting impression on human civilization.

So if you ask me whether I'm proud of my Chola heritage, yes I'm proud of that. I'm aware that the Cholas massacred more Tamils than any other race. The Cholas are responsible for rigid caste structures. But we need to understand that you can't sit in the 21st century and judge people who lived 1000 years ago using modern values. It is impossible to celebrate a single king or dynasty based on today's yardstick. Were the Cholas ruthless? Yes, they were ruthless and ambitious. In those days wealth was created through war and trade. Even to this day, trade and war complement each other. The most important thing to me is their overall contribution. They are more than just conquerors and plunderers. Labelling them conquerors and plunderers is like labelling the United States as just conquerors and plunderers.

I would say Tamil should look up to Cholas and be inspired. Tamils live in 180 countries around the world. Just like during the times of Cholas, we could have a similar soft influence on the world like the Jews have on the world today. There are more than 100,000 Tamils in 16 countries. There are more than 1 million Tamils in four countries. Tamils served as Prime Ministers or Presidents of 4 countries. Currently, the US vice president is half Tamil. Tamils have served in senior ministerial positions in 14 countries. There are many top CEOs globally like current Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who is Tamil. There are 3 Nobel laureates, 3 Oscar winners and 13 Tamil billionaires worldwide. The Tamil film Nayakan is on the Times' list of "Top 100 Greatest Films of All Time".

So I think Tamils should absorb the Chola spirit so that Tamils as a society could have a positive influence on the progression of human civilisation as a whole. I don't believe in narrow nationalism. I believe in internationalism. Tamil culture must be open to the world as it has always been for over 3000 years. 2000 years ago, a Tamil poet wrote "யாதும் ஊரே யாவரும் கேளிர்" which means "To us all countries are one, all the people are our relatives". I would like to keep it that way.