E-Paper
Tamil Anthem – Governor’s Paths to Survival in Power
‘It is highly significant to note that this Tamil anthem is a state song and it must be sung according to the guidelines of the state order’
The governor’s public conduct is increasingly becoming questionable with the latest episode of leaving out the word “Dravida” from the Tamil anthem “Tamil Thai Vaazhthu” sung at the valedictory function of the “Hindi Week” celebrated by the Doordarshan-Tamil in Chennai on October 18, 2024. It is both unjust and cowardice to place the blame on the children who sung the Tamil anthem and worse of all to believe that the governor’s office was completely naïve and unaware of the plot that the present governor is well- known for raising one emotive issue after another unabashedly to provoke the people of Tamil Nadu and please his political camp and survive in power without any concern for the impact upon the common public.
Is Tamil Nadu a colony of the New Delhi that the governor’s office can at will change the name of the state as Tamizhagam in the official invite as done on the occasion of his hosting the Pongal celebrations at the Raj Bhavan in January 2023, and his recent political slug against the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) by omitting the word ”Dravida” from the ”Tamil Thai Vaazthu”. After all these politicking the governor has done, yet he speaks without any guilt or conscience that the country must fight against the separatist tendencies reemerging in the state. The governor is more divisive and provocative that he wants to wrestle with the DMK and the state government by adopting the tactics of hit and run.
It is highly significant to note that this Tamil anthem is a state song and it must be sung according to the guidelines of the state order. The governor, at least, as a presiding authority over the function, especially on the occasion of the “Hindi Week” combined with the golden jubilee celebrations of the Doordarshan in Chennai, should have demonstrated the dignity of his office and responsible conduct towards the state and the people, instead of raising the bogie of racism against the chief minister of the state. There is no doubt that the governor is acting beneath the dignity and decorum of his constitutional office and far beyond the political brief embarrassing even the allies of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tamil Nadu.
The chief minister of the state and the president of the DMK MK Stalin has joined the issue by raising whether RN Ravi is a governor or an Aryan at the service of his mentors. The governor suddenly felt the heat and sidestepped the controversy, that he had plotted by habit, with his polished act of remorse after seeping the harvest, the DMK is in no mood to relent at this stage. The DMK has posed a challenge whether the governor would dare to omit or oversee the deliberate neglect of the word ”Dravida” in the national anthem. If the governor was not party to this plot, then why the director of Doordarshan –Chennai has not been served the notice or being asked for any explanation yet? The governor should have asked for an explanation from the Doordarshan-Chennai for the regrettable incident.
The governor got into further squeamish by stirring another debate about the working of three-language policy in practice across the country by saying that all states follow three-language policy barring Tamil Nadu. Former Union home minister P Chidambaram advised the governor to discuss the government policy based on facts and informed that the governor is living in an imaginary world. Chidambaram noted that many Hindi-speaking states do not teach English and don’t have trained language teachers to conduct classes besides reminding that the choice of third language in many schools in northern states is either Sanskrit or another language from the same region.
It is far too simple to prove that the three-language formula is not working in many of the northern states while the governor spews about the toxicity infused in the minds of people in Tamil Nadu in the last 50 years while maintaining that Hindi is not a language of imposition. This is a pure party-political rhetoric that governor should be advised to refrain in the future. If he believes that every language should be celebrated why is he silent about the BJP government at the Centre for not holding celebrations for other Indian languages every year, including the classical languages besides changing the name and logo of the Podhigai channel as Doordarshan-Chennai. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) challenged the governor’s proficiency in south Indian languages despite his long stint here in the region besides questioning whether northern states include languages such as Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Odia and Bengali in their school curriculums.
It is a plain fact that the governor awaits an extension of his term here in Tamil Nadu or be rehabilitated in another state. He has overstayed the hospitality of the state. There is a subtle political message that the extension of his tenure in Tamil Nadu will neither help nor advance the interests of the BJP in state politics. There is a thin line to mark between the political parties asking for his recall and the people peeved at the public conduct of a Constitutional authority and his divisive politics.
(Prof.Ramu Manivannan is a scholar-social activist in areas of education, human rights and sustainable development through an initiative “Multiversity.”)
