Political Clash Over Rupee Symbol in Tamil Nadu Budget
Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK government has stirred controversy by replacing the rupee symbol (₹) with the Tamil letter ‘Ru’ in its state budget promotional material. BJP state president K Annamalai lashed out at the move, calling it “stupid” and pointing out that the rupee symbol was designed by the son of a former DMK MLA.
Annamalai’s Sharp Criticism
Annamalai took to X (formerly Twitter) to criticize the DMK government, stating:
“The DMK government has replaced the rupee symbol designed by a Tamilian and adopted across Bharat. Thiru Udaya Kumar, who created the symbol, is the son of a former DMK MLA. How stupid can you become, Thiru @mkstalin?”
Speaking to the media, Annamalai explained that while the Tamil letter ‘Ru’ is commonly used by Tamils to denote money, it cannot replace a national symbol. He argued that the rupee symbol (₹) was universally accepted after a nationwide design contest and replacing it with ‘Ru’ was both nonsensical and condemnable.
The Rupee Symbol’s Tamil Connection
The rupee symbol was created by D Udaya Kumar, a Tamilian with a PhD from IIT Bombay, who won a national contest in 2009. His design blended Devanagari ‘Ra’ and Roman ‘R’ to give the symbol a universal yet culturally rooted appeal.
Ironically, Udaya Kumar’s father, N Dharmalingam, was a DMK MLA in 1971. Annamalai mocked the ruling party, saying:
“The DMK does not even know that the rupee symbol was designed by a Tamilian. That is the funny and worst part of it.”
DMK Defends Tamil Language Prioritization
The DMK has defended its move, asserting that the use of ‘Ru’ is a symbol of Tamil pride and that there is nothing illegal about it. DMK leader Saravanan Annadurai stated:
“This is not a showdown. We prioritise Tamil, and that is why the government went ahead with this.”
‘Language War’ Between DMK and BJP
Annamalai accused the DMK of escalating the language war with the Centre. He linked the rupee symbol controversy to Tamil Nadu’s opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP), which introduces a three-language formula instead of the state’s existing two-language policy (Tamil and English).
“The DMK is fighting a losing battle. My campaign in support of the three-language policy has crossed 14 lakh signatures, proving that people want to learn a third language,” Annamalai said.
He also accused the DMK of trying to divide India by claiming that southern states are being politically marginalized.
As the political war over Tamil identity continues, the DMK remains firm on its Tamil-first stance, while BJP continues to counter its policies, calling them divisive and misleading.
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