TamilNadu Always Tamilnadu!!

Above is the question that was asked in the debate in the Rajya Sabha in 1963 on the demand that the then 'Madras State' should be renamed as Tamil Nadu, and the answer given by Perarinjar Anna in anger.After the linguistic division of the states, Tamil Nadu was no longer known as Tamil Nadu. Madras State was its previous name. These days, we don't hesitate to call our state "Tamil Nadu." But Congress had 63 years prior. Additionally, the then-ruling Congress desired a "Madras State."This is a divisive demand,'' Congress feared. ``The safety of non-Tamil speakers is questionable,'' they said. Thus, they avoided the request to change the name of ``Tamil Nadu'' from the beginning.

But the voices persisted in stating, "Just because the British termed an area "Madras Province" for administrative reasons, it is not necessary to continue as it is, it is important to safeguard our identities, and the name should be changed to Tamil Nadu."On November 1, 1956, the states were separated linguistically after gaining independence. Only the territory populated by Tamils in what was formerly known as "Madras Province" became "Madras State.

" On October 10, 1955, Periyar, who was already aware of the shift, made a statement.It states, "Even after the secession of the Malayalis, the Andhras, and the Kannadas from Tamil Nadu, some people are attempting to stop Tamil Nadu from being referred to as "Tamil Nadu." It appears that they would disguise the name by renaming it "Chennai Nadu."He said that the opponents shouldn't be successful in their plotting by changing the name of our nation to Tamilnadu. Following this, both the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Dravida Kazhagam began publishing comments calling for the name to be changed to Tamil Nadu.

In 1952, Potti Sriramulu committed suicide by fasting in support of Andhra state demand. This greatly affected Gandhian freedom fighter martyr Shankaralingan from Virudhunagar. He participated in Thandiatra with Gandhi. He wrote down his property to the people.Later he built an ashram and lived in Virudhu Nagar like Gandhi. He also followed Poti Sriramulu and went on a fast at Virudhunagar Deshabandhu Maidan on 27 July 1956 with 12 demands. One of these 12 demands was the demand to change the name to 'Tamil Nadu'.None of Sankaralinganar's demands were granted by the previous Congress administration. But Shankaralingan stuck with his fast for several days. This caused controversy on all sides. Pages and pages were written by the media. Sankaralingan was concerned every day. Senior leaders of the time, including Kamarasar, M.B.O.C., Kakan, Anna, and Jeevanandam, visited Sankaralinganar in person and attempted to calm him down out of concern for his health.

Sankaralingan, however, persevered in his fasting for 75 days before passing away on October 13, 1956. A Congress party that fights against the will of the people will perish, Shankaralingan penned in a letter before his passing. If you are capable of fixing it," he wrote. He even requested to give his body to Mayandi Bharti of the Communist Party because he was a mature congressman.But even after he passed away, the Congress of the time did not accede to any of Sankaralinganar's demands. Following this, the desire for a name change for Tamil Nadu became a crucial issue. In 1957, the Anna-led DMK introduced a motion calling for a "name change" when it first joined the Assembly.However, only 42 votes were cast in favor of the resolution. 127 votes against. However, DMK continued to advance the Tamil Nadu demand.

The motion to change the name of Tamil Nadu was once more introduced in the Legislative Assembly in 1961 by Chinnadurai, who was then a legislator for the Socialist Party. The M.B.O.C. Tamil Nadu party staged numerous protests in Tamil Nadu in response to this. Instead of stating that a name change was impossible, Kamaraj spoke of peace and said that "Tamil Nadu can only be referenced in government letters." But no one was willing to acknowledge it.In the same year, West Bengali communist politician Bhupesh Gupta introduced a private bill in the Rajya Sabha calling for the renaming of Tamil Nadu. He talked about how the federal government might approve this even if the state legislature does not establish a statute to that effect.The council member Anna also spoke at the same time, citing the proverb "Vadavenkadam Tenkumari Aidai Tamilkulam Nallulagam" and the song "Imhilkadal Veliyai Tamilnadakina." But Bhubesh Gupta's bill was unsuccessful.

The fight persisted despite this demand being rejected at the state and federal levels for eight years in a row. Rama Arangannal, a member of the DMK Legislative Assembly, proposed the name change in a motion that was passed on July 23, 1963. The Congress is still in charge at this point. However, Kamaraj was succeeded as chief minister by Bhaktavatchalam. The claim that "if the name is changed, the contracts and documentation should change" was refuted by R. Venkatraman. The country once known as the Gold Coast has changed its name to Ghana, and all of these obstacles are no longer there, according to DMK. The resolution fell short once more!

To open the locked doors of power, DMK had to gain control. A resolution to rename "Madras State" to "Tamil Nadu" was introduced and approved on July 18, 1967, after the DMK took office. Peraringar Anna was the Chief Minister at the time. On November 1st, 1968, the bill was approved by Parliament. Officially, the naming ceremony was held on December 1, 1968 in the preschool hall. Anna, who fought till the end for ten years for this demand, enthusiastically participated in the ceremony despite her weak body. All the Tamils ​​celebrated the day emotionally.

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