CHENNAI: In a veiled attack on Governor RN Ravi without naming him, Chief Minister MK Stalin remarked on Friday that the term “Dravidam” made some people uncomfortable.
Speaking at the release of the Tamil translation of Dravidian Movement and Black Movement, the PhD thesis of Forest Minister K Ponmudi, Stalin said that while he did not want to name the person, everyone knows the person who will not read the word “Dravidian model” in the legislative assembly.
The CM once again blamed the governor for the Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu being sung without the line ‘Dravida nal thiru nadum’ at the Hindi Month celebration function at Doordarshan, which was opposed by the state government. Doordarshan later said it was an accidental omission by those who sang it.
“Will your tongue become tainted if you say Dravida nal thiru nadum,” Stalin asked. Questioning the alleged aversion certain people have against the word “Dravidam,” the CM said he will repeat the word again and again if it caused discomfort to those people. Stating that while the word once referred to a place, race and language, it has now become a “political word” and a “revolutionary word” against Aryan domination.
Stalin further added that the Dravidian movement challenged this system with progressive ideals and that is why it is called the “Movement of knowledge”. Stalin further emphasised that Tamil Nadu, spearheaded by the Dravidian movement, has long been a leader in social justice, with policies aimed at ensuring equal rights and opportunities for all.
Highlighted the achievements of the successive Dravidian governments, Stalin said the government’s policies have consistently dismantled caste-based barriers. “We will not tolerate obstacles to equality,” he asserted and accused that Aryan supremacist ideologies remained resistant to the empowerment of marginalised communities.
Stalin requested the Dravidian movement-affiliated youth to study the history and impact of the Dravidian movement and urged them to write books like Ponmudi that would help the movement to spread its achievements to the world.