TN Assembly passes Tamil Thai Vazhthu resolution

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution mandating the rendition of Tamil Thaai Vazhthu at the commencement of government events in the state. The resolution, piloted by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, was supported by several legislature parties, including the opposition DMK and AIADMK, who endorsed the government’s stance that the state song should be sung first in the sequence of songs to be rendered at government functions. Moving the resolution, Vijay said his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government will not compromise on Tamil Nadu’s linguistic and cultural rights. “Tamil is not only a language but also our life and emotions,” Vijay said in an emotive speech and stressed that the “mother tongue is as pure as one’s mother.”
“This Assembly proudly records that Tamil is the ancient classical language of the world and Tamil civilisation is one of the oldest cultural traditions in the world. Tamil Thaai Vazhthu taken from the play ‘Manonmaniam’ written in 1891 by Manonmaniam Sundaranar, must be sung first at government functions from November 23, 1970,” the resolution stated. Announcing that the resolution had been passed unanimously, Speaker J C D Prabhakar informed the House that its implementation required no permission from anyone. “This is an Assembly resolution and the chief minister’s voice represents the entire Tamil population,” the Speaker emphasised.
“Singing the Tamil Thaai Vazhthu is not against the political system or India’s unity. On the contrary, it reflects the nation’s high principle of unity in diversity. There’s no need to make this demand of singing the Tamil Thaai Vazhthu first into a political debate,” he said. As per the resolution, the state song should be sung at the commencement of programmes conducted at educational institutions, universities, government offices and public sector undertakings in Tamil Nadu.
It may be recalled that the Tamil Nadu government issued an order on November 23, 1970, insisting that the Tamil Thaai Vazhthu be sung at the beginning of official events. The state government officially recognised it as state song on December 12, 2021, making it compulsory to render this first in the sequence of songs to be played at official functions.
The move comes in the backdrop of the latest advisory from the Union Home Affairs Ministry asking the states and union territories to “strictly comply” with its January 28 directive that the National Song Vande Mataram be played before the National Anthem at official events.