The entrance arch of the railway divisional office, Tiruchirappalli, was named ‘Kartavya Dwar’ (Gate of Duty) recently, sparking a political row on language imposition in the state.
Taking strong exception to it, the chief minister claimed that the Union BJP government has embarked on a “vile” Hindi imposition of writing the Hindi name in Tamil and English under the pretext of promoting “one language, three scripts.”
“They have written Kartavya Dwar at the entrance arch of the Tiruchirappalli divisional office of the Railways. The attempt to impose Hindi on Tamil and English names should be abandoned and proper Tamil names should be included immediately,” Stalin said in a post on the social media platform ‘X.’
Otherwise, the BJP government will have to feel the heat of the Tamils, he warned.
The Centre had already imposed the name ‘Bhavishya Nidhi Bhavan’ for the Provident Fund Offices (EPFO) and was giving Sanskrit names in English for the new criminal laws.
“The name of the Union Water Resources Ministry has become ‘Jal Shakti’ and the 100 days employment guarantee scheme named after Mahatma Gandhi was renamed. The bitterness and arrogance is increasing,” he pointed out.”We need to teach these people who are trying to undermine the self-respect of Tamils a proper lesson,” Stalin, who is the president of the DMK, said.
As opposition to the Hindi words in Tamil script snowballed, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami urged the Central government to immediately intervene in the matter and give a Tamil equivalent name.
“While the names of Central government institutions in Tamil Nadu are mentioned in Tamil, English and Hindi, the Tamil script on the entrance arch of the Railway Divisional Office, Tiruchirappalli, was used to inscribe the Hindi words without proper translation,” Palaniswami said on ‘X.’
He said reports indicated that the railway authorities have now agreed to remove the Hindi name, respecting the objections.
“The people of Tamil Nadu are well aware of the attachment that the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has towards the Tamil language. While the Central government is continuously giving recognition to the Tamil language, such incidents should be avoided,” the former CM said.
Even when visiting countries around the world, the Prime Minister proudly mentioned the merits of Tamil language as the oldest language in the world. The PM recently signed an agreement with the Malaysian government to set up a “Thiruvalluvar Chair” at the University of Malaysia, Palaniswami pointed out.
Meanwhile, a section of DMK members applied black paint on the inaugural plaque containing the words Kartavya Dwar in Tamil and staged an agitation demanding the officials concerned to replace the Hindi words.
They later dispersed when the officials assured to replace Kartavya Dwar with apt Tamil words.
