Stalin, Udhayanidhi Stalin criticise those allergic to ‘Dravida’

DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday launched a tirade against those “who are allergic to the word ‘Dravida’”. The word ‘Dravidam’ was a revolutionary term against the “Aryan dominance”, Mr. Stalin said.

He was speaking at a function in which the research work comparing the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu with the Black movements in the United States, authored by DMK leader and Minister K. Ponmudy, was released at Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters.

“There is someone, and you know who that is. If we invite him to deliver a speech in the Assembly, he would not if he is given the text with [the term] ‘Dravida model’. If we say Hindi month should not be celebrated, they would sing ‘Tamil Thai Vaazhthu’, but leave out ‘Dravida’,” Mr. Stalin said.

(Recently, at an official event organised by DD Tamil in which the Governor participated, the State anthem was rendered incompletely, with the omission of the reference to the ‘Dravida’ land. This was later said to be an inadvertent omission.)

“Will it defile your tongue if you utter ‘Dravida Nal Thiru Nadu’? If this puts a fire on somebody’s mouth, stomach and brain to sing this way [by including Dravida Nal Thiru Nadu], we will keep singing. Dravida was once identifying a land, community, language,” the DMK president said.

He went on to say,: “But today it [the word ‘Dravida’] has emerged as a political term and as a revolutionary term against the Aryan dominance. ‘Dravidam’ is not merely opposing ‘Aryam’ but the one that targets ‘Aryam’.

In an apparent reference to Ekalavya, a character from the epic Mahabharata, Mr. Stalin quoted late DMK leader and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi as saying that if one was asked for his thumb or head as an offering, the one who asked for it would be skinned. The Dravidian model of governance was spreading that spirit, he added.

“The Dravidian model of governance would change the ‘Manu Needhi’ and ensure equality before law, social justice, and equal opportunity for the people,” Mr. Stalin said.

Underscoring that the Dravidian movement put Tamil Nadu ahead of other States on various fronts, Mr. Stalin called upon the youth to read the social history of Tamil Nadu and research the impact of the Dravidian movement on the Tamil society.

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said some people were attempting to destroy the Dravidian movement and remove the term ‘Dravida’. He said there was no space for such attempts in Tamil Nadu.

“As long we have the black-red flag [of the DMK], as long as the last of Kalaignar’s brethren live on this land, as long as we march, holding the hands of the leader, the dreams of fascists and sangis [those of the Sangh Parivar] would never come true in Tamil Nadu,” he said.

Dravidar Kazhagam president K. Veeramani, DMK general secretary Duraimurugan, and Mr. Ponmudy were spoke at the event.

Published - October 25, 2024 10:39 pm IST