Key Points
The Tamil anthem has been sung before Indias national anthem in schools, sports events and even in the legislative assembly...
We are not against the Tamil anthem or culture, but the central government made it clear in 2016 that the national anthem should be played when the governor arrives and leaves in every state, said Narayanan Thirupathy, Vice President of the Tamil Nadu BJP..
Tamil Nadu is not the only state with two anthems or songs.At present, 12 other states have their own songs: Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Odisha, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand.West Bengal is considering having its own anthem, too...
The Tamil anthem is an expression of the peoples linguistic and Dravidian pride, he said, and is not meant to undermine the larger national identity.It is anassertion of Tamil identity and self-respect within the Indian Union,he said.. Tamils are genuinely proud of their language; of the rich literary tradition and the rich inclusive cultural tradition associated with their language..
From now on in Tamil Nadu, government programmes will begin with a Tamil greeting song instead of a prayer song, announced Karunanidhi, before officially adopting it as the state anthem in June 1970..
