in 1971, the government of tamil nadu constituted a committee of historians and litterateurs, headed by m. varadarajan. one of the objectives of the committee was to highlight "the great antiquity" of the tamils. a 1975 textbook written by this committee detailed the kumari kandam theory, stating that it was supported by "the foremost geologists, ethnologists, and anthropologists". as late as 1981, the tamil nadu government's history textbooks mentioned the kumari kandam theory.