This time, too, the Prime Minister has managed to keep buzzing political circles with his penchant for mixing governance with some subtle jabbing here and there. In a public address, he took a not-so-veiled poke at some Tamil Nadu leaders, by saying, “Sometimes, I am surprised when I receive letters from some leaders of Tamil Nadu. None of them are signed in Tamil. At least sign in Tamil!”
Now, if that is not a mic drop moment in the current tussle of political semantics and regional identity, what is?
While some deemed it humorous yet poignant encouragement toward preserving linguistic heritage, others quite couldn’t decode it: cultural advice or a brilliantly disguised roast-and-eat-flesh? Prime Minister’s point was: If you claim to be proud of Tamil, then don’t just holler it in rallies—sign it, write it, and live it.
PM Modi went further to highlight the concerted effort that the central government has made since independence to carry Tamil language and heritage across the oversea territory. From sponsoring Tamil studies in international universities to celebrating the richness of age-old Tamil literature, the Centre has more actively taken up in the recent past projecting Tamil pride, which is soft-power, of course but domestically as well.
Ironically, while many parties in Tamil Nadu continuously accuse the centre of cultural imposition or “Hindi chauvinism”, Modis words have substantively turned the table. For, by asking Tamil politicians to practice what they preach-literal writing, he has put them in an awkward situation. When Tamil pride is your plank for poll, thus not signing in Tamil becomes an interesting contradiction.
This is likely to spawn yet another wave of political drama in the Tamil Nadu-BJP relation, which is already fraught with intense linguistic and cultural controversies. Expect long hours of TV debates and heavy storms on social media, and perhaps, just perhaps, a few Tamil signatures on those next political memos.
Because if Tamil be indeed the pride of this land, wouldn’t it be poetic justice to start with… well, your own signature?