Stalin replaces Rupee symbol with Tamil letter

PTI

Chennai

Intensifying the language tussle with the Centre, the Tamil Nadu government on Thursday replaced the Devanagari rupee symbol with a Tamil letter in its logo for the budget 2025-26, in an unprecedented move signalling its unrelenting stance against the three-language formula under the National Education Policy (NEP).

The move comes amidst a political firestorm over the issue after the Tamil Nadu government rejected the National Education Policy with Chief Minister M K Stalin accusing the central government of trying to impose Hindi in the state under it and claimed that NEP was a “saffron policy” aimed at promoting and developing Hindi and not the nation.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman slammed the DMK and said the avoidable example of regional chauvinism “promotes secessionist sentiments”.

The DMK has also asserted that Tamil Nadu would not tolerate ‘Hindi colonialism’ replacing British colonialism, while the Union government has accused the state government of being “dishonest” and “ruining the future of the students” in the state for politics. The logo for the budget, released by the government on Thursday, carried ‘ru’, the first letter of the Tamil word ‘Rubaai’.

It denotes the Indian currency in the vernacular language. Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu is scheduled to table the budget on Friday.

The logo also had the caption “everything for all”, indicating the ruling DMK’s assurance of an inclusive governance model.

The symbol change triggered a political slugfest, with the BJP leaders attacking the DMK, and the ruling party members asking if any rule barred such a depiction. DMK MLA Ezhilan Naganathan justified the move and said there was nothing wrong with using the mother tongue.

Sitharaman took strong exception to the removal of the rupee logo and asked why the DMK did not protest in 2010 when it was officially adopted under the then Congress-led UPA government, where the Dravidian party was a key part of the ruling alliance.

“Ironically, ‘`’ was designed by Th. D Udaya Kumar, the son of former DMK MLA N Dharmalingam. By erasing it now, the DMK is not only rejecting a national symbol but also utterly disregarding the creative contribution of a Tamil youth,” she said in a post on X.

Moreover, the Tamil word ‘Rupaai’ itself has deep roots in the Sanskrit word ‘Rupya,’ meaning ‘wrought silver’ or ‘a worked silver coin.’ This term has resonated across centuries in Tamil trade and literature, and even today, ‘Rupaai’ remains the currency name in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

The Rupee symbol is internationally well-recognised and serves as a visible identity of India in global financial transactions. “At a time when India is pushing for cross-border payments using UPI, should we really be undermining our own national currency symbol?” she asked.

“All elected representatives and authorities are sworn under the Constitution to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of our nation. Removing a national symbol like ‘Rupee’ from the state budget documents goes against that very oath, weakening the commitment to national unity.”

“This is more than mere symbolism – it signals a dangerous mindset that weakens Indian unity and promotes secessionist sentiments under the pretence of regional pride. A completely avoidable example of language and regional chauvinism,” Sitharman said.

Slamming the Stalin government’s move, BJP TN chief K Annamalai asked the chief minister how stupid he could be to do it.

“The DMK Government’s State Budget for 2025-26 replaces the Rupee Symbol designed by a Tamilian, which was adopted by the whole of Bharat and incorporated into our Currency. Thiru Udhay Kumar, who designed the symbol, is the son of a former DMK MLA. How stupid can you become, Thiru @mkstalin?” he said in a social media post.

He also shared the logo of the 2024-25 TN budget that had the Devanagari symbol.

Responding to Annamalai’s criticism, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai said no law “opposed or stopped using Ru in Tamil”. “Then why such anger,” he asked in a post on X.