Chennai:
Tensions between the Tamil Nadu government and governor rose significantly on Friday after Chief Minister MK Stalin said a line with the word ‘Dravida’ was skipped when the Tamil anthem was sung at an event attended by Governor RN Ravi. Mr Stalin accused the governor of insulting national unity and asked the Centre to recall him.
The skipping of the line added fuel to a raging fire over Mr Ravi attending the golden jubilee celebrations of Chennai Doordarshan, which also marked the culmination of the Hindi Month. Chief Minister Stalin had objected to this and said celebrating Hindi in a non-Hindi-speaking state is seen as an attempt to belittle other languages.
The Tamil Anthem, the Tamil Thai Vazhthu, is sung at the beginning of every government programme and the word ‘Dravida’ refers to the people in the southern states. A group from Doordarshan, while singing the anthem, left out the line which has the word in it.
