Omission of ‘Dravidam’ from Tamil Thai Vazhthu at Guv’s event whips up political storm

CHENNAI: Rendering of the Tamil Thai Vazhthu, the official state invocation song, at the golden jubilee celebration of Doordarshan here on Friday whipped up a political storm in the state after a line celebrating the pride of ‘Dravidam’ was skipped by the troupe, triggering widespread political backlash.

Dubbing it as a deliberate insult meted out to Tamils and Tamil Nadu by the Governor, Chief Minister M K Stalin demanded the immediate recall of Governor R N Ravi for violating the state law and acting in accordance with his whims and fancies.

The event became a political talking point in a linguistically boisterous Tamil Nadu after its live telecast showed the line (Thekkanamum Adisirandha Dravidar Nal Thirunadum – a tribute to the vibrant land of Dravidians) being omitted during the chanting of the song at the DD gold jubilee celebration.

Reacting strongly to the ‘omission’, Chief Minister Stalin, in a message posted on his ‘X’ page, said, “Governor or Aryan? Chanting the Tamil Thai Vaalthu after ‘removing’ (read as omitting) the word Dravidam was tantamount to violating the law of Tamil Nadu. A person who does not act in accordance with the law and acts according to his whims and fancies does not deserve to hold the office. In the pretext of celebrating Hindi, the governor is insulting the unity of the country and people of different races living in the land.”

Wondering if the governor who suffers an allergy towards Dravidam would propose to skip the word in the national anthem, Stalin said, “The union government must immediately recall the governor who is deliberately insulting Tamil Nadu and the sentiments of the state people.”

Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami described ‘Dravidam’ as a revolution against oppression and symbol of an ancient civilization of the world and said, “Whoever indulged in an act trivializing the Dravidian civilization and sentiments of Tamils must desist from doing so.”

CM’s racist remark and incorrect imputations against me unfortunately cheap: Guv

Reacting in kind to the CM’s criticism, Governor Ravi said, "Hon'ble Chief Minister M K Stalin has issued a regrettable tweet this evening in which he made a racist remark against me and levelled false allegations of showing disrespect to Tamil Thai Vazhthu. He knows it well that I recite Tamizh Thaai Vaazhthu fully at every function and do so with reverence, pride and precision.”

Stating that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the Central government has proudly created several institutions for the spread of Tamil language and heritage within India including Tamil Nadu and several countries of the world.

Claiming credit as a “proud Indian” for launching Tamil diploma course in Gauhati University for spread of Tamil in the North East,” the Governor said, “Making racist remark and alleging incorrect imputations against governor by the chief minister is unfortunately cheap and lowers the dignity of the high constitutional office of the chief minister. Since he rushed to the public with his racist remarks and false imputations I am constrained to respond."

Apologize for the inadvertent mistake: DD

Meanwhile, Prasar Bharti issued a clarification statement saying, “During the rendering of the Tamil Thai Vazhtu, inadvertently, a line was missed, which happened due to a distraction. “We apologize for the inadvertent mistake. There was no intention from the singers to disrespect Tamil or Tamil Thai Vazhthu.”