CHENNAI: A day after he was embroiled in a controversy over omission of the word ‘Dravida’ from the lyrics of Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu for Hindi month celebration at Doordarshan Kendra in Chennai, governor R N Ravi governor stood up to the recital of the Tamil anthem at Tamil University in Thanjavur with the singers sticking to the original version including the word ‘Dravida.’
The 14th convocation of Tamil University in Thanjavur commenced with the recital of the national anthem followed by Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu by three people from the university.Saturday’s function chaired by the the governor-chancellor took place at the Karikalacholan auditorium on university premises.
Delivering the convocation address, Gandhigram Rural Institute vice-chancellor Panchanatham Natarajan said National Education Policy-2020 (NEP) emphasised on the importance of learning in one’s mother tongue. MK Gandhi had stressed on the importance of teaching students in vernacular languages, he said, and advised students to learn other Indian languages and foreign languages as well.
During the convocation, degrees were conferred upon 656 candidates. Security was ramped up ahead of the governor’s visit to Thanjavur to attend the convocation and launch vision 2035 of Sastra deemed university. Central region police deployed around 500 police personnel and officers in Thanjavur. Minister for Tamil development and Tamil University pro-chancellor M P Saminathan did not make it to the event despite being mentioned in the invitation. Tamil University vice-chancellor V Thiruvalluvan was present.
‘Guv stirs controversy for attention, Dravidian is bitter pill for him’
HR&CE minister P K Sekarbabu on Saturday criticised governor R N Ravi, accusing him of “creating unwanted controversies only ato attract media attention”. Law minister S Regupathy too lashed out at the governor, saying the word ‘Dravidian’ must be leaving a ‘bitter taste’ in his mouth.
Sekarbabu told reporters in Chennai, “Governor is stirring unwanted controversies on a daily basis only to attract media attention. Whatever be the controversy he stirs, our chief minister M K Stalin will give the right response and will never back off.”
At the valedictory function of ‘Hindi Week’ celebrated by Doordarshan-Tamil in Chennai on Friday, the governor said only in Tamil Nadu is the two-language policy followed, the remaining 27 states opted for the three-language policy. But what triggered a furore was the omission of the word ‘Dravida’ from the ‘Tamil Thai Vaazhthu’ sung at the event. Stalin and several leaders, allies and opposition, strongly condemning it.
Reacting to the controversy, Regupathy said ‘Dravidian’ must be a ‘bitter word’ for the governor. He told reporters in Pudukkottai, “We (DMK) are not divisive.”
The DMK legal wing also condemned the governor. The legal wing, at its meeting held at Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters, passed a resolution against
the governor, accusing him of “acting as an agent of the BJP-led Union govt to destroy the Tamil language and Dravidian culture”.
Chidambaram, KPCC take on TN governor
Stoutly rejecting TN governor R N Ravi’s claims that all states follow three language policy barring Tamil Nadu, former Union minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said many north Indian states primarily teach Hindi and follow a one-language policy.
Taking to X, Chidambaram said many Hindi speaking states do not teach English and don’t have trained language teachers to conduct the classes. “He (governor) is living in an imaginary world,” he added.
He also said there is no hindrance to learn Hindi in Tamil Nadu as thousands of students from the state were writing exams through Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha. “I request the governor to discuss govt policy based on facts,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee on Saturday questioned the governor’s proficiency in South Indian languages despite his long stint here. He said that Tamils face no difficulty in coming to Kerala and communicating and vice versa. KPCC questioned whether northern states include languages such as Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Odia, and Bengali in their school curriculums.
Spirituality & politics don’t mix in TN: Deputy CM
Deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sunday said politics and spirituality do not go together in Tamil Nadu. Responding to former Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Udhayanidhi said on X, ‘No matter what you say, politics and spirituality don’t go together in Tamil Nadu.”
The deputy CM said people of Tamil Nadu were “closely watching her hailing Hindi and ditching Tamil, like the way the Union govt changed the name of the channel ‘Podhigai’ to DD Tamil”.
Earlier, Tamilisai Soundararajan told reporters in Coimbatore that chief minister M K Stalin was attempting to create an illusion that BJP and Union govt were indifferent towards Tamil language. He sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to avoid “Hindi-language events in non-Hindispeaking states to push this narrative”.
Tamilisai also took a dig at Udhayanidhi, saying that the deputy CM has begun doing ‘girivalam’ at Thiruvannamalai temple “to correct his mistakes” after speaking about ‘Sanatana Dharma’.
Udhayanidhi responded, saying he went to Tiruvannamalai only to check if all the facilities were available for devotees who undertake ‘girivalam’.
Guv quotes from Sangam-era work
A day after finding himself in a controversy over omission of the words ‘Dravida Nal Thirunaadu’ from the lyrics of Tamil Thai Vaazhthu at a Doordarshan function he attended, governor R N Ravi on Saturday invoked Sangam-era literary work Purananooru, calling India a whole family, in Thanjavur.
“India must grow forward with its values; it should have both internal and external growth … so that we live together as a family. That’s what we call ‘Vasudaiva kudumbakam’ and we have our own saying (Yaathum oore yavarum kelir) meaning ‘we are one family’,” he said at Sastra deemed university to launch ‘Sastra Vision 2035’ institution development plan and inaugurate ‘Anusandhan kendra’ III & IV, a 2.25 lakh sq ft research and innovation facility constructed at 60 crore. Sastra chancellor R Sethuraman, vice-chancellor S Vaidhyasubramaniam and director & CFO of Kaynes technology Jairam P Sampath were present.
On the occasion, the national anthem and Tamil Thai Vaazhthu were sung in their entirety. In his address, Ravi said, “We started to build a new country after Independence forgetting the past and its inherent strength. But now we have a leader who looks at this country not in segments, compartments and not in terms of divisions but as a family.”
Complimenting Sastra on its growth, he urged the students to be a part of VIKSIT BHARAT @ 2047. Sastra also exchanged an MoU with Kaynes Semicon in the presence of the governor to establish a centre of excellence in semiconductor manufacturing.