TIRUCHY: While Tamil outfits and a section of Periyar supporters are bracing to celebrate Tamil Nadu Day on November 1, K Veeramani, president of Dravidar Kazhagam, and Suba Veerapandian, chairperson of the Social Justice Monitoring Committee of the government, have proposed that it be celebrated on July 18 instead.
November 1, 1956, was when the State was created on a linguistic basis, and July 18, 1967, was when former chief minister Annadurai christened the State as Tamil Nadu. In 2019, the previous AIADMK government declared that November 1 would officially be celebrated as Tamil Nadu Day. Accordingly, it was celebrated by the government in the past two years. However, a demand to celebrate it in a grand manner across the State had often been put forth for many years.
The general body of the Federation of Periyar supporters met in Tiruchy earlier this month and adopted a resolution to celebrate November 1 in all the districts by organising cultural programmes. NTK and other Tamil outfits also planned to hold celebratory events on November 1 this year in Salem. Against this backdrop, the statements from Veeramani and Suba Veerapandian assume significance as they are urging people and the government to celebrate Tamil Nadu Day on July 18.
In a statement released on Friday, Veeramani said “Our State lost certain places in the State reorganisation on November 1, 1956. Also, even after the reorganisation, the State remained as ‘Madras State’. Though that was a day of significance, it would be more appropriate if we celebrate July 18 as it was then that ‘Madras State’ was officially rechristened as ‘Tamil Nadu’.”
He added, “There is no need for a difference of opinion among us. The State government should declare July 18 as Tamil Nadu Day. I hope Chief Minister MK Stalin will make an announcement in this regard.”
Suba Veerapandian expressed a similar opinion, saying, “Periyar demanded that the State be named ‘Tamil Nadu’ and Sankaralinganar died due to hunger strike emphasising this demand.
The demand for name change was raised many times by the DMK and several other parties in the State Assembly. Also, Annadurai spoke about it in the Rajya Sabha. Finally, the DMK when it assumed power in 1967 did it on July 18.” DVK president Kolathur Mani said, “We are fine with either of the dates. We want a day to be celebrated in a grand manner by the State government, similar to how in Karnataka all parties come together to celebrate Kannada Rajyotsava in a grand manner.”
Why these dates?
On July 18, 1967, former chief minister Annadurai christened the State as Tamil Nadu. November 1, 1956, was when the State was created on a linguistic basis