Silambam Practitioners to get 3% Sports Quota for Govt., PSU Jobs

On 18^th November 2021, the Government of Tamil Nadu designated ‘Silambam’ as one of the games to be included for the 3% sports quota recruitment in government departments and public sector undertakings (PSUs).

About Silambam

• It's an ancient weapon-based martial art.
• The Tamil Sangam literature has the early records of Silambam.
• Silambam is a popular variant of martial arts which is performed with the aid of some specific weapons, primarily with bamboo sticks.
• It is widely performed in the regions of Tamil Nadu (India) which is also the birthplace of the game, where it emerged in around 1000 years BCE.
• The word Silambam etymologically means "staff from the hills" with the word meaning of "Silam" being "hills" and "Kambu" being "staff or sticks".
• The game is usually played on an even hard surface where the players use a bamboo stick with its length equivalent to their heights.
• Overall, there are 16 forms of footwork present in this martial art.

Initiatives to promote Silambam

State

• Recognised as a State Sports: The Government of Tamil Nadu had recognised it as one of the State sports.
• Quota in Admission to Professional Courses: Silambam was also included as one of the sports disciplines for consideration under sports quota for admission into professional courses like medical, engineering, law etc.
• Courses in PET Course: Postgraduate diploma, diploma and certificate courses in Silambam have been included in the curriculum of the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University.
• Inclusion in state-level School Games: It was included as one of the sports disciplines in State-level school games and has been recognised by the School Games Federation of India as one of its competitions.

Central Govt.

• Inclusion in Khelo India Scheme: The Government of India has also approved the inclusion of Silambam under the component of ‘Promotion of Inclusiveness through Sports’ of the New Khelo India Scheme.