In a fresh row between the Tamil Nadu government and Governor RN Ravi, Chief Minister MK Stalin has written to the Union Government to recall the governor over Hindi imposition and removing the ‘Dravida’ word from the Tamil anthem. Now, CM Stalin has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging the centre to recall the governor for insulting national unity.
The incident pertains to the Chennai Doordarshan’s golden jubilee celebration event alongside the culmination of the Hindi month. CM Stalin said that the celebration of Hindi month in the non-Hindi-speaking state is an attempt to belittle other languages.
In Tamil Nadu, the Tamil Thai Vazhthu – the Tamil anthem, is sung at the beginning of every government programme. However, during the Doordarshan event, the artists singing the song skipped the line with the ‘Dravida’ word. While Doordarshan Tamil has apologised for the mistake saying that the error happened due to the singers being distracted, the political row continues over the incident.
I strongly condemn the celebration of Hindi Month valedictory function along with the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Chennai Doordarshan.
Hon’ble @PMOIndia,
The Constitution of India does not grant national language status to any language. In a multilingual nation, celebrating…
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) October 18, 2024
CM Stalin alleged that skipping the word is a violation of state law. He also accused the governor of insulting national unity by celebrating Hindi in a non-Hindi state.
“Will the governor who suffers from a Dravidian allergy ask them to leave out ‘Dravida’ in the national anthem? The Union Government should immediately recall the Governor who is deliberately insulting Tamil Nadu and the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu,” Stalin said on X.
On the other hand, Governor Ravi said Hindi should be celebrated alongside other languages and it should not be viewed as an imposition.
“First, when I came here, Hindi was not a welcome language in Tamil Nadu but when I started meeting students, I was happily surprised that their Hindi was better than mine. There is a greater acceptance of Hindi among the people of Tamil Nadu… Hindi is not a language of imposition of language in Tamil Nadu,” he told ANI.
Responding to the protests by the DMK and comments of CM Stalin, the Governor said that it was an attempt to isolate Tamil Nadu from the rest of India. He termed anti-Hindi protests and remarks a ‘toxic and separatist policy’.