When Karunanidhi became chief minister for the first time following Annadurai’s death in 1969, he proudly announced that he had chosen a hy...
When Karunanidhi became chief minister for the first time following Annadurai’s death in 1969, he proudly announced that he had chosen a hymn in praise of Tamil Tai (Tamil mother) to be sung at all government functions. The song, Neerarum Kadaluduththa, composed by Professor Sundaram Pillai, became in effect the anthem of the state.
The metaphor of the Tamil language as mother and the Tamils as her children strengthened the emotional appeal of the language issue, evoking feelings of devotion to the mother tongue and serving to unite all Tamils, irrespective of caste, gender and even borders. The involvement of Tamil Nadu and its political leaders in the Sri Lankan Tamil issue should be seen in this context.
Before the 1980s, there was little popular concern in Tamil Nadu about discrimination against Tamils in Sri Lanka. But 1981 onward, the harrowing stories narrated by Tamil refugees arriving in Tamil Nadu, the burning down of the famous Jaffna Public Library over 31 May-1 June 1981 and the week-long anti-Tamil violence in Sri Lanka aroused widespread anger and sympathy for the Sri Lankan Tamils. Soon thereafter, MGR and Karunanidhi met Indira Gandhi separately in Delhi, urging the prime minister to protect Sri Lankan Tamils.
The Dravidian party leaders competed with...
