Dravidam-Aryan storm hits Tamil Nadu politics as CM Stalin, Governor trade charges

CHENNAI: The whiff of a bonhomie between the government and Raj Bhavan earlier this week vanished like a mirage on Friday after an alleged faux pas by Doordarshan, which the regime perceived as an insult towards ‘Dravidam’, sparked a major row between Chief Minister MK Stalin and Governor RN Ravi.

The trigger was the alleged omission of a line celebrating the pride of ‘Dravidam’ from Tamil Thai Vaazhthu, the State invocation song, at the golden jubilee celebration of Doordarshan.

Also Read: Tamil Thai Vazhthu row: Why didn't you correct it on stage, Stalin counters Governor Ravi's claims

When the official song was sung, the line Thekkanamum Adisirandha Dravidar Nal Thirunadum (a tribute to the vibrant land of Dravidians), was ‘omitted’. The live telecast of the event, in which Governor Ravi was the chief guest, immediately caught the attention of many in Tamil Nadu where the language holds a special place socially, culturally, and politically.

In his sharp remark, Stalin said, “Governor or Aryan? Chanting the Tamil Thai Vaazhthu after ‘removing’ the word Dravidam is tantamount to violating the law in 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 seemed to suffer from 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 people”.

In a rare act of unity, Leader of Opposition and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami described ‘Dravidam’ as a revolution against oppression and a symbol of an ancient civilisation of the world. “Whoever indulged in an act trivialising the Dravidian civilisation and sentiments of Tamils must desist from doing so,” he said.

An hour later, bristling at the allegations Stalin raised against him, Governor Ravi termed Stalin’s comment as regrettable and accused him of making a racist remark against him and levelling false allegations of showing disrespect to Tamizh Thai Vaazhthu.

“He knows it well that I recite Tamizh Thai Vaazhthu fully at every function and do so with reverence, pride, and precision,” Ravi claimed.

The Union government under the leadership of PM has “proudly” created several institutions for the spread of Tamil language and heritage within and outside India, he said.

Claiming credit as a “proud Indian” who launched a Tamil diploma course in Gauhati University for the spread of Tamil in the North East, the Governor said, “Making racist remarks 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.”

Incidentally, the latest spat has come merely three days after the Governor supported the government’s efforts while dealing with the extremely heavy rains on Tuesday.