Kanimozhi responds to rejection of TN's Republic Day tableaux with video of freedom fighters from state

Tamil Nadu had proposed a tableau highlighting the contribution of men and women from the state in India’s Independence struggle

Days after the Union Government rejected Tamil Nadu’s tableau for reportedly featuring “less known” freedom fighters from the state, DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Friday released a 3-minute video in English with Hindi subtitles on V O Chidambaranar, the man who launched the Swadeshi movement.

The video posted on Kanimozhi’s verified Twitter page became the talk of the day as it comes amidst plans by the Tamil Nadu government to feature the tableau at the Republic Day celebrations hosted by the state administration in Chennai and take it across the state for public viewing.

The reported remarks of the expert committee questioning the popularity of V O Chidambaranar (VOC), Marudhu Brothers, and Velu Nachiyar who were featured in the tableau triggered a massive controversy in Tamil Nadu, though the Defence Ministry, which oversees Republic Day celebrations, did not attribute any reason for rejected the state’s proposal.

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Media reports also said the committee also questioned whether VOC was a businessman.

Tamil Nadu proposed a tableau highlighting the contribution of men and women from the state in India’s Independence struggle. Though the state’s proposal was discussed in three meetings and suggestions were given for modification, it did not make it to the fourth round.

The DMK government took the rejection as an “insult” and announced to use the tableau in the celebrations in Chennai. In what is seen as a clear attempt to take freedom fighters from Tamil Nadu outside the state, Kanimozhi posted the video which explains in brief the life of VOC, who hailed from Thoothukudi, her Lok Sabha segment.

Beginning with a disclaimer that the sole intention of the video was to highlight the “significance” of Tamil leaders in English with Hindi subtitles for “broader reach and better understanding”, the video ends with two Hindi words – samjah? samajlena – in Tamil superstar Rajinikanth’s voice from his 2018 movie Kaala.

The video talks about the contribution of illustrious men from Tamil Nadu like Veerapandia Kattabomban, Subramania Siva, Subramania Bharathi, Tiruppur Kumaran, Sathyamurthy, and Vachinathan. Born into a royal family of Thoothukudi, VOC is known as Kappalotiya Tamizhan for he launched Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company in 1906 in protest against the monopoly of the British India Steam Navigation Company (BISNC). He was later imprisoned by the then British regime.

The video also says VOC is an “everlasting name” not just in the history of Tamil Nadu but also in the history of India’s Independence.

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