Indian rupee symbol promotes Hindi. Should Tamils follow ?

Indian rupee symbol promotes Hindi. Should Tamils follow ?

The Indian Government accepted the symbol to represent the Rupee symbol. The credit goes to Mr. D Uday Kumar, an Indian citizen of Tamil origin who designed this symbol. It is said that the symbol is a combination of the Devnagari script and the Latin letter ‘R’. During the 2010 Union budget, the Finance Minister of India Mr. Pranab Mukherjee said that the proposed Indian Rupee sign would reflect and capture the Indian ethos and culture. This symbol was short listed from around 3331 responses. Guideline number 5 of the contest stated that “submitted symbols were required to be in the Indian National Language Script or a visual representation". Apparently this violates the Constitution of India as it does not specify any script as a ‘National language script’.

While the need of a currency symbol for a country like India to stand out in the global market is appreciated. What irks is that the symbol does not represent or capture the complete Indian ethos and culture. It has apparently ignored the South India particularly the Tamil culture which is often referred to as the ‘last surviving classical civilization’. It has on the other hand promoted the Devnagari script and the symbol in my opinion, fails to represent the diversity of India.

It may not be possible to make both ends meet however, it could have been possible to select an old or perhaps the oldest living Indian language which is Tamil. It appears that the Union Government has taken the states into confidence without approaching the state government for its comment while introducing the new rupee symbol which is unacceptable in a federal set up. Recognizing a language or civilization based on its antiquity in my opinion would only enhance India’s image. Indian Government’s various initiatives to thrust Hindi on Tamil Nadu could actually lead to a loss of a treasure. Today Hindi in Tamil Nadu could be seen in the form of an anglicised version for instance :‘Jiyo life bindaas’. On one hand, there is a civilization that is trying to preserve its identity, culture, language and tradition and on the other hand, we have not just Government but also people trying to promote Hindi in the pretext of ‘National language’.

I think, the Tamils of Tamil Nadu must learn from the Mauritius Tamils where Tamil numbering is used in the currency. It is time to revive our own language and learn the missed lessons and encourage the use of Tamil where ever possible within Tamil Nadu and Puducherry including the currency notes. If the Government intends to use a language as a medium of expression to reach out to the common mass, then I would want to see it in my mother tongue when I am in my home state, Tamil Nadu. Perhaps it would be a nice idea to use ௹ symbol in Tamil Nadu to represent the Indian rupee as my concerns are that the next generation could mistake it for a non-existing Tamil letter from the 10th century!

I welcome your comments.

Vignesh Raj

United Kingdom

e-mail: vickey_24@yahoo.com