In a recent interview, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi launched a scathing critique of the state’s ruling DMK government, questioning its commitment to the Tamil language and culture.
Governor Ravi pointed to the condition of state-run Tamil institutions as primary evidence of governmental neglect. The flagship example is the Thanjavur Tamil University, established in 1981 by former Chief Minister Dr. M.G. Ramachandran to promote Tamil language and heritage.
“Over 40 years down the line, this university is in the most pathetic condition,” Ravi stated. He revealed that the university struggles to even muster 1,000 students, a benchmark required by the UGC for central scheme benefits. “They are just adding up the PhD scholars somehow to reach the 1,000 mark.”, he noted.
The problems run deeper than enrollment numbers. The Governor highlighted a 50% vacancy in faculty posts, a complete lack of state-funded research grants for students, and a tragic situation where priceless Tamil heritage, over 11 lakh palm leaf manuscripts, is “rotting, getting destroyed” with no funds allotted for their preservation.
Political Patronage Over Cultural Icons
The critique then shifted from institutional neglect to a question of political priorities. Ravi contrasted the treatment of Dravidian political icons with that of Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi, a towering figure of Tamil literature and pride.
“There is not one chair in the name of Subramania Bharathi in our 20 state universities,” he asserted. Revealing a four-year personal struggle to establish such a chair, Ravi alleged that Vice-Chancellors are threatened by ministers and are “genuinely scared” of potential harassment and false police complaints.
This stands in stark contrast, he claims, to the establishment of “more than 15 chairs in our universities in the name of just three Dravidian icons.” Specifically, he noted that the current Chief Minister has established “two chairs in his father’s name [Kalaignar Karunanidhi] and two more chairs are coming up.”
For the governor, this disparity is telling. “This tells you their love for Tamil.”
The Central Government’s Initiatives: A Contrasting Narrative
To further underline the state government’s alleged failures, Ravi presented initiatives by the Central Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a proactive force for Tamil culture.
He credited the Modi government with revitalizing the Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT) with a state-of-the-art building and taking the language to non-Tamil audiences. This includes:
- A running diploma course in Tamil at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), which also hosts a Subramania Bharathi Chair.
- A Tamil diploma course initiated at Guwahati University.
- Promoting Tamil literature globally by setting up a Thiruvalluvar centre in Singapore, a Thiruvalluvar chair in a Malaysian university and at Boston University in the USA.
- Funding Tamil language teachers in countries like Fiji.
“At this point of time,” Ravi concluded, “if I say that no leader has done as much service for Tamil language and culture than Prime Minister Modi.”
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