Tamil Thai Vaazhthu row: Probe blames non-native woman DD official; staff threatens to approach union

CHENNAI: The controversy over alleged omission of Dradivam from Tamil Thai Vaazhthu has not only sparked a political storm in the Dravidian heartland, it is also roiling the Doordarshan Kendra here in Chennai, after an inquiry sought to put the blame on the woman official, a non-native, who was given the lead in singing the anthem while she warned of taking up the matter with the employees’ union if any action is taken against her.

Multiple sources in Prasar Bharati, Chennai division, sought to distance the broadcasting station and also the Governor’s office from the whole row, claiming that an internal inquiry has deemed it an “individual’s error”.

Explaining the background of the matter, sources at all DD Tamil events said the national and State anthems are usually sung by a troupe from All India Radio (AIR) Tamil. “But, due to 'administrative reasons', the AIR troupe didn’t come this time. So another group of people from the Doordarshan admin section were arranged to sing the anthems. They are also DD staff, but are not used to singing the State Anthem," said an official.

One of them, a woman official who is a non-native Tamil speaker, took the lead and others followed suit. She reportedly wrote down the transliterated version of the State anthem in English on a piece of paper which she held in her hand while singing it. “While singing, she turned to the next page and accidentally left the line containing the word "Dravida" unread. She stumbled, forgot that line and started singing the next line, causing the others to stumble for a few seconds and then follow suit. This is evident in the live streaming of the event," claimed an official.

Hours after the controversy broke out, the Governor’s office sought an explanation.

“A high-level investigation found that the woman was negligent, and she expressed regret over the incident. However, we could not take any action against her, as she said that singing the anthem was not her job here and that the mistake happened because she engaged in unrelated work," sources said.

However, insiders said the woman official told the senior officials that if any action was taken, she would appeal to the Association of Akashvani & Doordarshan Engineering Employees (AADEE). Due to this, the officials are caught in a fix, said officials.

Regretting the incident, senior officials said the whole controversy was an administrative fault, as people not used to singing the State anthem were engaged for it and those who sang did not understand the meaning of the lines.