Chennai, Jan 7 (PTI) The ruling DMK’s official organ ‘Murasoli’ on Saturday reprimanded Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi for his alleged Thamizhagam remark and asserted that no one respects the Constitution and laws as Tamil Nadu does.
Taking strong exception to the Governor for allegedly suggesting that Thamizhagam would be a more appropriate name for Tamil Nadu, an article in Murasoli said time has come to teach a lesson on India’s history to the Governor.
Both Tamizhagam and Tamil Nadu roughly mean, ‘The land of Tamils.’ “He (Ravi) says that the word Tamil Nadu is suggestive of a sovereign nation. Let us look into the names of other States. How does Rajasthan fare? Does it not sound like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan? What is the meaning of Maharashtra? Does it not mean that it is a country of the Maratha people. Is it secessionist in tone?” The Tamil daily also gave Kerala’s tagline to promote tourism, ‘God’s own country’ and asked if that usage denoted a demand for a separate nation-State status. Is it not foolish to think that Telugu Desam Party is a secessionist party as the name Desam meant country?, the ruling party’s newspaper said.
The daily, by citing the names of other States and the TDP, indicated that such nomenclatures were all about the people of the land.
The article, titled as a ‘Conversation’ between senior officials, said India had never been a single country, hinting at a single political entity. India is only a confederation of many countries, the daily claimed.
“India is a creation of the Britishers.” Instead of feeling proud of an imaginary ‘Akhand Bharat,’ Ravi should thank the British for creating India, the article said.
It is only Tamil Nadu that respected more the nation’s sovereignty and the laws of the land and paid more taxes than the northern States and received less in devolution, the daily claimed.
A chunk of personnel in the armed and paramilitary forces are from Tamil Nadu. “No one else respects the Indian Constitution and laws like Tamil Nadu does.” Would BJP MP Tejasvi Surya remove Karnataka’s State flag as there is a national flag for India ? Murasoli demanded to know.
Ravi, at a felicitation to the organisers and volunteers of Kashi Tamil Sangamam held at the Raj Bhavan here on January 4, had remarked allegedly that Thamizhagam is a more appropriate name for Tamil Nadu.
“Here in Tamil Nadu, a different kind of narrative has been created. Everything applicable for the whole of the country, Tamil Nadu will say no. It has become a habit. So many theses have been written – all false and poor fiction. This must be broken. Truth must prevail,” he had said at the event.
“Thamizhagam would be more appropriate word to call it. The rest of the country suffered a lot of devastation at the hands of foreigners for a long time,” Ravi further said.
A release from the Raj Bhavan that day had quoted Governor as saying that Tamil Nadu is the soul, the idea and an identity of the nation and, “we should keep it alive to erase some falsehood and fiction of negative approach prevailing in the State.” There has been regressive politics with ‘wrong habit’ of refusing everything that benefit all sections of people including academicians, by claiming that the State is not integrally a part of India.
To that extent, the Kashi Tamil Sangamam is the start of a power packed journey with the contribution of everyone in spreading its legacy further more towards national resurgence, Ravi had said. PTI JSP VGN KH KH
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