Umar Thambi: Forgotten father of Tamil computing

More on Ummid: International l National l Regional l Politics l Business l Religion l History l Culture l Education




Omar removes Srinagar SSP after firing incident
German minister prevented from visiting Gaza
JDU-BJP rift: Modi pulls out of Nitish's functions
GoM ends fourth meeting, report before PM Monday: PC
VC flags off team to Kerala special centre
Govt. Scholarships: SIO questions government's approach
Mumbai college bans 'tight jeans'
Yusuf Raza Gilani: Pakistan wants good relations with India
Hezbollah: Israel terrified of women's flotilla

Zakir Naik to challenge British entry ban: Zakir Naik, the Indian Muslim preacher banned by the home secretary from entering the UK for his ..... Read Full Muslim Council: Zakir Naik exclusion order serious error of judgment	On Ventilator for 20 hrs, Anees cracks SSC board, tops school: Despite being on ventilator for most of the time - in a phenomenal display of grit and determination - Anees Faruqui cracked the SSC exams and secured ..... Read Full Maharashtra SSC Results: Sayyad Afsha scores 99% marks


Human shield at Anwarsseri to protect Madani from police arrest: The PDP and the supporters of Madani are on the move to make the inmates, including the children of Anwarsseri .... Read Full	Yusuf Raza Gilani: Pakistan wants good relations with India: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that his government wants good neighbourly .... Read Full
Rahul Gandhi turns 40, Cong observes 'Sankalp Diwas': Congress youth icon Rahul Gandhi's 40th birthday was today observed as 'Sankalp Diwas' by .... Read Full	Gujarat reminds Bihar about interest amount on flood aid: Within hours after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar returned the Gujarat government's Rs five crore contribution .... Read Full


Maharashtra SSC Results: Sayyad Afsha scores 99% marks: In an impressive show of talent Sayyad Afsha Sayyad Yusuf of Pusad scored 99% .... Read Full	Hindus in Northwest Pakistan demand basic rights: The minority Hindu community in Northwest Pakistan has demanded that it should be provided the .... Read Full
National Integration: The Way Forward: National Integration Council (NIC) is the apex body deliberating on the issues pertaining to overcoming the divisive ..... Read Full	Bhopal Gas Tragedy: GoM to finalise recommendations on Monday: The Group of Ministers on Bhopal gas tragedy will finalise its report on Monday making its .... Read Full
At least 400,000 displaced by Kyrgyzstan unrest: UN: Deadly inter-ethnic clashes that erupted in Kyrgyzstan a week ago have forced at least .... Read Full	UP Madrasa Board modifies syllabus to avail opportunities: To improve what it calls as 'job prospects of Madrasa students', Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrasa Education ..... Read Full

Monday, June 21, 2010 10:21:19 AM, Agencies

Umar Thambi - Father of Tamil Computing

Coimbatore: His creative work has been accepted globally. But, he failed to get due recognition locally even after his death. He is Umar Thambi, the pioneer, who contributed to Unicode by developing fonts for Tamil computing.

Bringing to light Umar's pioneering effort at a press briefing in Coimbatore, M H Jawahirullah, state president, Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) said that he had written a detailed letter to Chief Minister M Karunanidhi detailing the contributions made by Umar Thambi for the cause of Tamil computing.

Interestingly, Umar developed the Tamil fonts using Unicode for Tamil computing without any basic collegiate education.

It was Umar Thambi, who took the initiative to take Tamil worldwide through web format. Initially, Tamil remained as palmscripts and later in book form.

His Tamil fonts using Unicode system was well received by netizens across the globe.

Hailing from Adirampattinam in Thanjavur district, Umar was born on June 15, 1953 to Abdul Hameed and Rokkaiyya.

A bright student at Khader Moideen Higher Secondary School at his native place, Umar used to meddle with radio sets since he had a craze for electronics.

After his schooling, Umar left for Dubai in search of greener pastures. Even while working, he spared time to learn the basics of software and later started updating his knowledge on computer technology.

Back home in 2001, Umar devoted himself to software development.

Finally, Umar accomplished the mission of developing the fonts using Unicode for Tamil computing method.

Jawahirullah said that Umar Thambi had worked for the development of Tamil without any government assistance.

It would be a fitting tribute to honour Umar Thambi during the World Classical Tamil meet by instituting awards or education assistance to students pursuing their research in Tamil computing.

D Sekar Annadurai, a Tamil enthusiast and a regular Tamil internetuser, said that Umar's contribution to Tamil computing should not go unrecognised as he had paved the way for others, who are keen in improving Tamil computing taking cue from his initiatives.

Echoing similar views, several admirers from abroad through emails in Tamil internet magazines have appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to recognise Unicode Umar Thambi at the Tamil meet.

Home | Top of the Page

Comment on this article

Name:
E-mail Address:
Write here...

Ummid Business: Advertise with us | Careers | Link Exchange

Ummid.com is part of Awaz Multimedia & Publications providing World News, News Analysis and Feature Articles on Education, Health. Politics, Technology, Sports, Entertainment, Industry etc. The articles or the views displayed on this website are for public information and in no way describe the editorial views. The users are entitled to use this site subject to the terms and condition mentioned.