CHENNAI/VIRUDHUNAGAR: In a bid to end the debate over the state’s foundation date, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay announced that the government will celebrate Tamil Nadu Day on both November 1 and July 18. November 1 marks the 1956 creation of Madras State under the States Reorganisation Act, while July 18 honors the historic 1967 Assembly resolution moved by former Chief Minister C N Annadurai to change the state’s name to Tamil Nadu.
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and DMK president M K Stalin on Saturday greeted the people on the occasion of July 18. By celebrating Tamil Nadu Day on July 18, the TVK government is toeing the previous DMK government’s stance on the issue.
The PMK, however, reiterated that Tamil Nadu Day should be celebrated only on November 1 when states were reorganised on linguistic lines in 1956.
The CM, in his message, called upon the people to work together to make Tamil Nadu the leading state in the country by strengthening education, technology, skilled human resources, social justice and equality. He also paid tribute to those who worked for the formation of Tamil Nadu and said the state’s language, culture and human values should continue to flourish.
In a separate message, former Chief Minister M K Stalin recalled Annadurai’s historic resolution and said July 18 remains a proud day in the state’s history as it reflected the aspirations of the Tamil people.
Welcoming the CM’s announcement, former finance minister Thangam Thennarasu said the DMK government had declared July 18 as Tamil Nadu Day after several scholars argued that November 1 was not the most appropriate date because the state had lost territories during the linguistic reorganisation.
Thennarasu said the renaming of Madras State as Tamil Nadu was the result of a historic struggle in which freedom fighter Sankaralinganar sacrificed his life, and many others fought to protect the state’s identity.
He also noted that the previous DMK government had declared November 1 as Border Martyrs’ Day to honour those who sacrificed their lives for the state’s territorial boundaries and had enhanced the pension for their families.
