Our special correspondent
Twenty-one Tamil Nadu Members of Parliament belonging to the ‘INDI’ alliance have jointly written to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, urging him to give priority to the ‘Tamil Thai Vazhthu,’ which has been repeatedly pushed to third place and sidelined at universities and government functions in Tamil Nadu where the Governor participates.
In this regard, speaking to reporters in Delhi, Virudhunagar constituency Congress MP Manickam Tagore said, ‘Tamil Thai Vazhthu is Tamil Nadu’s state song. Continuously ignoring it and relegating it to third place during events is a highly improper practice. In a letter dated August 5 sent to the Governor, we have emphasized that such acts should not be repeated in Tamil Nadu. Such behavior is a grave insult to the Tamil language and Tamil culture. Therefore, we have sent to the Governor a letter signed by 21 MPs from the ‘INDI’ alliance, urging that the disrespect toward the Tamil state song be stopped,’ he said.
At the 33rd convocation ceremony of Tirunelveli Manonmaniam Sundaranar University on July 28, singing ‘Vande Mataram’ first, the ‘National Anthem’ second, and only then the ‘Tamil Thai Vazhthu’ on the order of the Governor’s office caused a major controversy.
In a letter written to the Governor by MPs regarding this, they noted that at the very university named after Manonmaniam Sundaranar Pillai, who composed the Tamil Thai Vazhthu song ‘Neerarum Kadaludutha,’ relegating that song to third place was a matter of distress for the people of Tamil Nadu and for him.
Earlier, during the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly session held last June, when the Tamil Nadu Governor delivered his address, the MPs pointed out in their letter the harmonious practice of singing the Tamil Thai Vaazhthu at the beginning and the national anthem at the end.
In other states, including Karnataka, the practice followed is to sing the respective state song at the beginning of the function and the national anthem at the end. The MPs also noted that this would not diminish national unity.
In a letter written to the Governor, 13 Congress MPs signed on behalf of the “INDI” alliance: former Union Ministers P. Chidambaram, P. Manickam Tagore, V. Vaithilingam, Dr. M.K. Vishnu Prasad, Jothimani, P. Karti Chidambaram, Vijay Vasanth, K. Gopinath, Praveen Chakravarthy, Sasikanth Senthil, C. Robert Bruce, R. Sudha, and Christopher Manickam. On behalf of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), its leader Thol. Thirumavalavan and T. Ravikumar, two MPs, also signed. On behalf of the Communist Party of India (CPI), K. Subbarayan and V. Selvaraj signed, and on behalf of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), Su. Venkatesan and R. Sachidanandam signed. Also signing were Durai Vaiko on behalf of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and K. Nawaskani on behalf of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Tamil Nadu MPs have requested in a letter that the Raj Bhavan issue clear guidelines to ensure that Tamil Thai Vazhthu is sung at the beginning and the national anthem at the end of events, including convocation ceremonies held in Tamil Nadu universities and government colleges.
