Oscar Award-winning musician AR Rahman tweeted an artistic image of a woman clad in a white saree against a red backdrop. The caption read, 'Tamizhanangu' which means Tamil goddess. The footnote is a line from a popular Tamil poem by nationalist poet Bharathidasan. It says 'Beloved Tamil language is the root to the rights of the Tamil people.' 'Tamizhanangu' Is a popular word from Tamil Thai Vazhthu (Tamil national anthem) penned by Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai and composed by MS Viswanathan.
— A.R.Rahman (@arrahman) April 8, 2022
Within minutes, the image went viral sparking a political debate. Netizens pointed out that the white image against the red backdrop is the pictorial representation of Hindi imposition by the union government. The tweet was also seen as a response to Home Minister Amit Shah's recent Hindi remark.
At the 37th Parliament meeting on Thursday, Shah stressed accepting Hindi as the alternative to English. He also reiterated making Hindi the official language to unify the strength of the nation. "PM Modi has decided Hindi as the medium of running the government to enhance the importance of the language."
The statement triggered controversy across the nation with non-Hindi speaking states opposing the move. Amid all the chaos, Rahman's tweet took the entire controversy to a new level with several users linking the post to Shah's remark and its effects.
Netizens seem to be divided on the issue. While many lauded the musician's post denoting Hindi imposition, others questioned his intention behind it. So far the post has received more than 19k retweets.
Rahman is known for his preference to speak in Tamil in the national and international arenas. After winning the prestigious twin Oscars, the musician ended his thank you note with "Ellapughazum Iraivanuke," which translates to 'all praises go to god."
