There was a demand to mark 18 July as Tamil Nadu Day as the resolution to rename Madras Presidency was moved on this day in 1967.
Published Jul 18, 2022 | 6:52 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 28, 2022 | 11:47 AM
Sand art in Marina beach, Chennai to commemorate Tamil Nadu Day. (Twitter/ sudarsansand)
Chief Minister MK Stalin, discharged from the Kauvery Hospital after undergoing treatment for Covid-19, appeared via video conference to address the gatherings at Kalaivanar Arangam to celebrate Tamil Nadu Day on 18 July.
The Department of Arts and Culture said there had been a demand to celebrate 18 July as Tamil Nadu Day since the resolution to change the name of the Madras Presidency to Tamil Nadu was moved in the Assembly on this day in 1967 by then chief minister CN Annadurai.
Agreeing to the demands of Tamil scholars, political parties, organisations, and activists, Stalin in 2021 said the state would celebrate Tamil Nadu Day on 18 July every year.
The chief minister, addressing the gatherings via video, said the state would not have been named Tamil Nadu had the DMK not come to power and had Karunanidhi and Navalar not been ministers.
“If it had not been named Tamil Nadu by the DMK, the state would have been unidentified like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh,” he claimed.
“Only the DMK managed to get classical-language status for Tamil,” Stalin added.
He also said Tamils live in more than 30 countries in great numbers and more than 60 countries in lower numbers. Tamil Nadu is the motherland for all of them, he said.
“Keeladi excavation proves that urban civilisation existed in Tamil Nadu in the sixth century BC,” he noted.
The Dravidian movement created the feeling of Tamil, Tamilan, and Tamil Nadu, and the protest against Hindi imposition in 1983 was the struggle to fight and sacrifice for the sake of the Tamil identity, Stalin said.
“We also owe a debt of gratitude to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the name Tamil Nadu. It is because of them that we live in Tamil Nadu today. More than 30 of the top 100 colleges in India are in Tamil Nadu. Sixteen of the top engineering colleges in India are from Tamil Nadu,” he added.
Artefacts unearthed from excavation sites like Keeladi, Adichanallur, Sivakalai, Mayiladuthurai and Kodumanal are displayed by the Department of Arts and Culture on Tamil Nadu Day, along with old and historical documents of the Tamil Nadu Survey Department.
Sand art commemorating the event was installed on the Marina by noted sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik.
The Department of Arts and Culture also illuminated the Tamil Nadu House in Delhi to commemorate Tamil Nadu Day, where the government is expected to organise exhibitions.
