Trinity reaches out to Sir Stephen Timms MP to back Thiruvalluvar statue project

Sir Stephen Timms MP runs a weekly clinic here at Trinity, where he addresses residents’ concerns about drugs, crime, violence, poor housing, fly tipping and other issues. He also regularly attends special events hosted by some of our community groups.

Recently, he met with TMK (Tamizhar Munnetra Kazhagam) a Tamil organisation, who have been meeting here for over 50 years and whose work includes the establishment of Tamil language school for children. Sir Stephen was invited by TMK to support one of their projects - to erect a statue in Newham for the famous Tamil poet and philosopher, Thiruvalluvar.

Thiruvalluvar has a world-wide reputation on a par with many Western philosophers. His book, the Thirukural - which translates roughly to 'Universal Scripture' - is a wisdom text that explores ethics, political and economic matters and love in a collection of couplets. It has been translated into 57 languages, with a total of 350 individual translations, and is considered a a guide to living a virtuous life and promoting societal harmony.

Photo by Arjan Pradhan on Unsplash

TMK’s request for the statue reflects their commitment to Thiruvalluvar’s positive ethics of tolerance, compassion and honesty, which are the roots of inclusive communities, like we have here in Newham.