DMK's Tamil New Year law scrapped

“It is not correct to change by fiat centuries-long belief and customs of the people,” Jayalalitha asserted to the thumping of desks in the state assembly, which by an overwhelming voice vote passed the ‘Tamil Nadu Tamil New Year (Declaration) Repeal Act, 2011’, that sets at naught the earlier law.

The aim of the new Act, to come into effect immediately, is to restore the “time immemorial custom of celebrating the first day of the Tamil month ‘Chithirai’ as the ‘Tamil New Year’s Day”, the statement of objects and reasons appended to the Bill, moved earlier by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister S P Shanmughanathan, said.

The erstwhile DMK government in 2008, citing Tamil researchers and scholars had changed the ‘Tamil New Year’s Day’ to coincide with harvest festival of ‘Pongal’. It was not only close to the birthday of the great Tamil Saint-poet Thiruvalluvar, but also had an authentic Tamil ring to it, adding to Tamils’ cultural pride.