T.N. government to celebrate State’s history on both July 18 and November 1, says Vijay

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay announced on Saturday that the State government will observe both November 1, the day the erstwhile Madras State came into existence, and July 18, the day former Chief Minister CN Annadurai introduced a resolution in the Assembly to rename the state as ‘Tamil Nadu’.

“Let us pledge to make Tamil Nadu, the birthplace of the classical Tamil language nurtured by the Tamil Sangams, the number one State in education, technology and human development,” he said on social media. “May the sweetness of Tamil, the rich culture of Tamils ​​and the spirit of humanism flourish for future generations,” he added.

Anbumani’s wish

A few days ago, Pattali Makkal Katchi leader Anbumani Ramadoss appealed to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam-led government to declare November 1 as Tamil Nadu Day instead of July 18. When the AIADMK was in power, the then Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami announced that November 1 would be celebrated as Tamil Nadu Day. However, after DMK came to power in 2021, it changed the celebration to July 18.

The then Prime Minister MK Stalin said that after representations from various political parties, Tamil scholars and enthusiasts, his government decided to change the date. They argued that the erstwhile united states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala were created from the erstwhile Madras State between 1953 and 1956. They argued that since the present State came into existence on November 1, 1956, it would not be appropriate to celebrate this date as Tamil Nadu Day.

Language Martyrs’ Day

In a social media post, former Minister Thangam Thennarasu said that November 1 cannot be celebrated as Tamil Nadu Day because there was a huge loss with the linguistic rearrangement of the states. This, he said, was the argument put forward by Tamil scholars. Mr. Stalin added that he announced that November 1 will be observed as Language Martyrs’ Day to honor those who sacrificed their lives in the struggle to protect the territorial borders of Tamil Nadu.