'Don’t behave like a fox, don’t mess with Stalin': Posters against Governor Ravi appear in Tamil Nadu after row over state anthem

Chennai: The controversy over the celebrations of Hindi Month by DD Tamil and a sentence being omitted from the state anthem at the event attended by Governor R N Ravi refused to die down on Saturday.

Posters asking Governor R N Ravi to “behave himself” and "not mess" with Chief Minister M K Stalin were pasted across the city on Saturday, while cadres of the Dravidar Kazhagam, DMK’s parent outfit, sent over 100 postcards with the omitted sentence written in them to Raj Bhavan as a mark of protest.

Thekkanamum athirsirantha Dravida nalthirunaadum (loosely translated as the great country in the Dravidian land) was omitted by the troupe that sang the song penned by Manonmaniam Sundaranar on Friday, triggering a massive row over language, a sensitive and political issue in Tamil Nadu.

While Stalin suggested that the sentence was skipped at the Governor’s behest, Ravi shot back at the Chief Minister and termed his remarks as “cheap”, “racist” and “incorrect imputations against him.” In a rebuttal, Stalin sought to know why Ravi didn’t object to the omission of a key line at the event if his proclamation that he has high respect for the anthem was true.

Posters titled, “Don’t behave like a fox. Aryan Ravi, don’t mess with our Dravidian Hero (Stalin)" could be seen pasted on walls across the city. Though the posters didn’t mention who designed them, it was quite obvious they were the handiwork of the ruling DMK.

Dravidar Kazhagam cadres held a novel protest by sending postcards to Governor Ravi with the omitted sentence written on them. “We have gathered here to express our displeasure over the Governor’s attitude. We hope the postcards reach the governor,” a protester said.

Former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram also joined the issue by telling the Governor that many Hindi-speaking states -- especially Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand – don’t follow a three-language policy.

“Many government schools do not teach English, do not conduct English classes, and even if they do not have language-trained teachers assigned to them…Deep down, only 'One Language Policy' is implemented,” Chidambaram added.

The entire political spectrum, barring the BJP, came out against the Governor for “deliberately insulting" the state. BJP allies like PMK and AMMK also condemned the omission of a particular sentence from the State Anthem and sought an explanation from the concerned.

This is not the first time that the Governor has stoked controversy with regard to language, a subject dear to Tamils. In January 2023, while delivering his address to the state Assembly, he skipped the word ‘Dravidam’ and almost suggested a name change for the state to Tamizhagam from Tamil Nadu, leading to wide-spread criticism.