Tamil Nadu: Hindi events, Anthem row: Stalin vs Governor battle hots up

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi should free himself from divisive forces and discharge duties as per Constitutional norms if he intends to continue as Governor, Chief Minister MK Stalin said, and asked him to desist from converting Raj Bhavan into a political party office to depict the Dravidian race in poor light.

Amidst the heightened war of words between the Governor and the Chief Minister over the omission of a line from the state anthem during its rendition at the governor’s event on Friday (October 18), Stalin sought to know why Ravi did not immediately condemn it when a line from the Tamil anthem was missed right in front of him.

"You say you can sing Tamil Thai Valthu with complete devotion, but why did you not immediately condemn when the singers missed a line pertaining to Dravida?" the chief minister asked Ravi.

Doordarshan apologised for omitting a line

While rendering the Tamil Thai Valthu at the valedictory of the Hindi month held at Doordarshan Tamil office in Chennai on Friday evening, where the governor participated, the troupe reciting the anthem inadvertently skipped a line. The Doordarshan Kendra had clarified and tendered an apology.

Also Read: Stalin accuses TN governor of 'Dravidian allergy' in anthem row; asks Centre to recall him

The omitted line - "Thekkanamum Adhil sirantha Dravida Nal Thiru naadum" - refers to the greatness of the Dravidian land in the Deccan.

Governor or ‘Aryan’, asks CM

The Chief Minister took strong exception to the omission and accused Governor Ravi of insulting the unity of the country and the people of different races living in the land, under the guise of observing Hindi month.

Stalin said a person who does not abide by the law and acts as per his wishes was not fit to hold that office. He wondered if Ravi was a governor or an “Aryan”.

‘Tamil is our lifeblood’

Reacting strongly to the Governor’s reply on the issue, Stalin said, “You have said that it was unfortunately cheap for a chief minister to make racist comments against a governor with false allegations. Governor, Tamil is our race, our lifeblood. Tamils were the ones who sacrificed their lives for the cause of the Tamil language and this soil laid the foundations of the first Constitutional amendment. If discriminating against our mother tongue is racism, then it is our pride!" Stalin said in a post on the social media platform 'X'.

Why has central govt not declared Thirukkural as national book?: Stalin

On the Governor’s assertion that Prime Minister Narendra Modi took Tamil even to the United Nations, Stalin wanted to know what the Modi government had done for the Tamil language. All along, the Centre has been providing hefty funds to promote Sanskrit.

"If the BJP-led government's affinity for Tamil was real, then what prevented the government from declaring the Tamil treatise Thirukkural as a national book?" the chief minister asked and claimed that the Centre was thrusting Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states.

‘Hindi everywhere – Hindi in anything’

Chief Minister Stalin accused the central government and the governor appointed by it of trying to impose Hindi with the policy of ‘Hindi everywhere – Hindi in anything’ with the prime minister’s schemes and slogans.

“What kind of political civilisation is it to forget the constitutional norms and talk about politics every day, and to turn the Governor’s House into a political office, and to vilify the Dravidian race? What kind of culture?” wrote Stalin.

Also Read: Tamil anthem row: RBI calls up minister, makes its stand clear

He further said, "If you (Ravi) intend to continue as governor, I request you to free yourself from divisive forces and discharge your duties according to Constitutional norms."

‘Constitution does not grant national language status to any language’

The chief minister wrote to PM Modi that the Indian Constitution does not grant national language status to any language, and that Hindi and English are only for official purposes. He said the government should avoid the Hindi language month celebrations in non-Hindi-speaking states.

Stalin further condemned the celebration of Hindi Month valedictory function along with the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Chennai Doordarshan.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said he did not want to make this controversy a big issue as DD has apologised.

"They have apologised, let’s see," Udhayanidhi told reporters when asked for his comments.

(With Agency inputs)