The Department of Tamil has been functioning since the establishment of the Institute. When the Institute was declared as Deemed University in 1976, the Department of Tamil was upgraded into a Faculty of Tamil, Indian Languages and Rural Arts. Part-I Tamil is being offered as a compulsory subject to students of all Degree programmes of the Institute. PG programme in Tamil and Indian Literature is also being offered from 1984. Comparative Indian Literature, Translation, Folklore and Media Studies are the thrust areas of research and instruction