'Ondriya Arasu' to replace 'Madhiya Arasu' in Tamil Nadu textbooks

Textbooks printed by the Tamil Nadu Textbook Corporation will “very soon” begin to refer to the Union Government as 'Ondriya Arasu' in Tamil in place of ''Madhiya Arasu'' (Central government). The newly-appointed chairman of the corporation ‘Dindigul’ I Leoni announced on Thursday after a meeting with Chief Minister M K Stalin.

The move comes amidst a debate over the usage of the term 'Ondriyam' by the new DMK government in the state. While the DMK maintains that 'Ondriya Arasu' is the apt translation for Union Government, the Tamil Nadu BJP unit has taken objection to the term accusing the ruling party of bringing a change in the nomenclature with an “ulterior motive.”

With the DMK normalising the term in daily discourse, Leoni, who was appointed as chairman of the textbook corporation that prints over 3 crore books a year, said the term 'Madhiya Arasu' will be replaced with 'Ondriya Arasu' in textbooks very soon.

“People have begun using the word Ondriya Arasu to refer to the Union Government. Ondriyam is a beautiful word that signifies that India is a Union of States. Since people have begun using the term, our textbooks will also use the word Ondriya Arasu in the future. The change will be effected very soon,” Leoni told reporters here.

While responding to a question in the Assembly, Stalin had said his government would continue to refer to the Union Government as “Ondriya Arasu” as the term signifies federalism.

Leoni’s appointment to the post has stoked a row with many pointing to his “distasteful” election speeches against women. Many people took to social media to condemn Lenoi’s appointment to the crucial post and opined that Stalin could have chosen a better person.

PMK M P Anbumani Ramadoss condemned the move and demanded that Stalin remove Leoni and appoint “someone else” to the post. Responding to the controversy over his appointment, Leoni said only opposition parties like BJP and PMK have been raking up the issue, and there was “no protest even from women.”