Language row snowballs, Stalin govt replaces Rupee symbol in budget logo with Tamil letter; BJP cries foul

Chennai: Stoking a major row on the eve of its last full-fledged budget, the M K Stalin-led DMK dispensation in Tamil Nadu on Thursday replaced the official Devanagari-based rupee symbol ₹ with ‘Ru’ (first letter of the Tamil word roobai for currency) in the logo to be used in Budget documents.

The change is a “political decision” endorsed by Chief Minister Stalin, who agreed with the point of view that Tamil should get more importance in the state, sources told DH.

The symbolic change adds yet another dimension to the ongoing debate over Tamil Nadu’s refusal to adopt the three-language formula proposed in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The development, though surprising, comes at a time when the DMK has sharpened its attack on the BJP on the issues of language and delimitation, while taking utmost care to flaunt its Tamil identity, an issue that finds resonance with people.

It was in 2024 that the Tamil Nadu government, for the first time, released a logo for Budget with ₹, the official symbol used to refer to Indian rupee since 2010, taking prominence. This year, the ₹ symbol has been replaced with Ru.

“What’s wrong in using a Tamil word in Tamil Nadu’s budget. Isn’t Tamil the official language of Tamil Nadu? Ru is commonly used in Tamil to denote rupee or currency. And by using a Tamil letter, we are only attaching utmost importance to our mother tongue,” a senior government functionary said.

J Jeyaranjan, the vice-chairman of the State Planning Commission of Tamil Nadu, was explicit. “We don’t use Devanagari. That’s all.” DMK MLA N Ezhilan suggested that the development was only a reaction to the action of the Union Government which he said was insistent on a three-language formula.

The logo with Ru (instead of ₹) was part of the teaser song for Budget released by Stalin, which featured a verse from Purananuru, a Tamil classic from the Sangam era.

Incidentally, the ₹ symbol was designed by D Udaya Kumar, a Tamil and the son of a former DMK MLA from Rishivandiyam. In his reaction, Kumar, a professor with the Department of Design at IIT Guwahati, said he wasn’t sure why the Tamil Nadu government decided to use the Tamil word instead of the symbol designed by him.

“Only the state government can explain its decision. However, the symbol designed by me has been widely used for the past 15 years,” Kumar said.

Opposition parties AIADMK and BJP were quick to term the change as a “diversionary tactic” and “stupid move” respectively. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said the move was to “divert” attention from pressing issues, state BJP chief K Annamalai said it was yet another “advertisement and a meaningless decision to hide incompetence.”

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman termed the move as “a completely avoidable example of language and regional chauvinism”. “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,” she posted on X.

She also said if the DMK had a problem it should have protested with the UPA government in 2010 when the symbol was adopted.