In rare gesture, Governor asks students to sing Tamil anthem at Hindi sabha event

Governor Banwarilal Purohit was attending the 81st convocation of the Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha in T Nagar. A few students were first invited on the stage to sing Vande Mataram. After the rendition was complete and the students were about to step down, Purohit beckoned one of the organisers and asked that the children be called back on stage to sing the Thamizhthai Vazhthu. 

“Yes, the Governor was the one who requested that Thamizhthai Vazhthu be sung as well. However, the request was well received by all present and everyone was happy to rise for the occasion,” said one of the members present at the event, when the Dakshin Bharath Hindi Prachar Sabha was contacted. It is mandatory to play the Thamizhthai Vazhthu – the anthem penned by Manomaniam Sundaram Pillai, at every state function and the people present at the event must stand up for the invocation, as per the custom in Tamil Nadu – be it they are present on or off-stage. 

When IIT-Madras faced allegations recently that the Tamil anthem was ignored intentionally at their event in an attempt to disgrace the state’s people and language, the Institute director Bhaskar Ramamoorthy had responded saying that it was the students who had volunteered to sing the Sanskrit hymn - and that it was their decision. He added that there was no scope for controversy in this regard.