The ‘Tamil Thai Vaazhthu’, the state song of Tamil Nadu and an invocation to Tamil language played in all public events in the state, has yet again come to haunt Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi. During the Hindi month valedictory event and Doordarshan Chennai’s Golden Jubilee celebrations on October 18, the singers on stage omitted a crucial part of the song, “thekkanamum athirsirantha Dravidarnal thirunaadum” (This is the greatest Dravidian land in the Deccan). A video where the singers abruptly pause due to the omission has gone viral on social media.
The act evoked sharp reaction from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, who has accused the Governor of insulting the unity and people of different races, in the guise of celebrating Hindi. “Are you a Governor? Or Aryan? Removing the word Dravidian and singing Tamil Thai Vaazhthu is against the law in Tamil Nadu. A person who acts according to his will and not by the law is unfit to hold that office. The governor who is allergic to the word Dravidam, will remove the same word from the national anthem?” MK Stalin asked.
The Chief Minister urged the Union government to immediately recall the Governor who, according to him, has been “deliberately insulting the state and the sentiments of Tamil people.”
The Governor responded by accusing the Chief Minister of making a “racist remark,” alleging that Stalin raised false accusations that he showed disrespect to the Tamil state song. “He knows it well that I recite full Tamil Thai Vaazhthu at every function and do so with reverence, pride and precision,” a tweet from the governor’s office said.
The Governor’s media advisor, however, issued a clarification, stating that the troupe singing the invocation song had ‘missed’ the line and that the Governor or his office had no role in it except for taking part in the programme. Doordarshan also issued a clarification stating that “the singers had missed the line due to a distraction.”
“We apologise for this inadvertent mistake. There was no intention from the singers to disrespect Tamizh or Tamizh Thai Vaazhthu. In this regard, we apologise for the inconvenience caused to the Honourable Governor of Tamil Nadu,” the clarification read.
The ‘Tamil Thai Vaazhthu’, a song of praise to the Tamil language, is customarily sung before the beginning of Assembly sessions in Tamil Nadu while the national anthem is sung at the end of the session.
Stalin also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, October 18, urging the Union government not to hold Hindi month celebrations in Tamil Nadu. He reiterated that the Constitution of India does not grant national language status to any language. “In a multilingual nation, celebrating Hindi Month in non-Hindi speaking states is seen as an attempt to belittle other languages. Therefore, I suggest that holding such Hindi-oriented events in non-Hindi speaking states could be avoided, and instead, the celebration of the local language month in the respective states should be encouraged,” he stated.
Stalin further added, “I also suggest that the Government of India can hold special events to celebrate the richness of all the classical languages that it has recognised in the respective states. This could enhance the cordial relationship among all.”