Tamil Nadu Assembly Passes Resolution Mandating Tamil Thai Vazhthu First

The Tamil Nadu Assembly has unanimously passed a resolution requiring the state song, Tamil Thai Vazhthu, to be performed first at the beginning of government functions. Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay moved the resolution, which received support from both the DMK and AIADMK amid an ongoing dispute over the order in which ceremonial songs should be played.

Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar announced that the resolution had been adopted and said its implementation required no additional permission. The measure applies to programmes organised by educational institutions, universities, government offices and public-sector undertakings across Tamil Nadu, formally giving the state song the opening position at such events.

Addressing the Assembly, Vijay said his government would not compromise on Tamil Nadu’s linguistic and cultural rights. Describing Tamil as the state’s lifeline, emotion, pride and strength, he argued that Tamil Thai Vazhthu deserved first place within the state. He also said the Tamil language had the ability to unite people across Tamil Nadu.

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The resolution comes amid differences with the Centre over ceremonial protocol. The Union Home Ministry issued a directive in January requiring the national song, Vande Mataram, to be played first and the national anthem afterwards at government events. In a July 9 advisory, states were asked to comply strictly with the specified order whenever a state song was also performed.

Tamil Thai Vazhthu was made mandatory at Tamil Nadu government events in 1970 and traditionally occupied the first position at official functions. It was formally recognised as the state song in 2021. A controversy arose in May when it was performed third, after the national song and national anthem, during a university programme.

The dispute resurfaced when 23 ministers from Vijay’s party took their oaths and the state song was again placed third in the sequence, a decision the TVK attributed to the governor’s office. More recently, 21 MPs from Tamil Nadu wrote to the governor seeking a protocol under which Tamil Thai Vazhthu would open official events and the national anthem would be played at their conclusion.

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