After a massive row that was put to rest only after an intervention from New Delhi, the Governor’s office here has reverted to the original style of using Tamil Nadu, the state government’s emblem, and referring to the Tamil calendar in invitations sent out for events at the Raj Bhavan.
The official invite sent by the Tamil Nadu Governor’s office for this year’s Republic Day has carried the emblem of Government of Tamil Nadu (GoTN) and the nomenclature ‘Tamil Nadu’ [in the Tamil text]. This is in contrast to the Government of India’s (GoI) emblem carried in its invite sent earlier this month for Pongal celebrations.
Not just the invites for Republic Day celebrations, a lot has changed in Raj Bhavan after the Governor issued a clarification on his Tamizhagam remark on January 18, following an intervention from the top brass of the Union Government.
Banners at events attended by Governor R N Ravi at Raj Bhavan now carry the emblem of the Tamil Nadu government, not that of the Union Government as was the case at an event attended by Ravi as on January 10. In the past week, the Governor has been praising Tamil Nadu to the hilt by talking about its rich past glory.
The Raj Bhavan’s Pongal invite attracted criticism as it carried only the GoI’s emblem as against the norm of carrying GoTN’s emblem. The Tamil part of the invitation was criticised for using the word “Tamizhaga” instead of Tamil Nadu in the Governor’s title. However, the invite for Republic Day has used the word “Tamil Nadu” in both English and Tamil.
The criticisms on the Pongal invitation came against the backdrop of Governor R.N. Ravi stating that he deemed the name “Tamizhagam” more appropriate than “Tamil Nadu” at a function on January 4. However, he recently clarified that he used the word “Tamizhagam” as an appropriate expression “in a historical and cultural context”, and did not suggest changing the name of the State.
ஆளுநர் அழைப்பிதழ்
— Su Venkatesan MP (@SuVe4Madurai) January 10, 2023
கடந்த முறை வந்த அழைப்பிதழில் தமிழ்நாடு அரசின் இலட்சினை இருந்தது. இந்த முறை வந்துள்ள அழைப்பிதழில் மூன்று இடங்களிலும் இந்திய அரசின் இலட்சினை மட்டுமே இருக்கிறது.
நமது இலட்சினையில் தமிழ்நாடு என்று எழுதப்பட்டுள்ளதால் அதனைப் பயன்படுத்த மறுத்துள்ளார்.1/2#தமிழ்நாடு pic.twitter.com/HYsiUZgQHX
