On Thursday, Tamil Nadu underwent a significant cultural transformation by replacing the official rupee symbol with the Tamil letter ‘ரூ’ in its budget document. Pronounced ‘roo,’ this letter represents the Indian currency in the Tamil language and also embodies the region’s rich cultural heritage. Chief Minister Stalin’s decision to change the symbol could have wider repercussions on global influence. The Rupee is one of India’s most important symbols of sovereignty.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly elections are scheduled for next year. Some see that the DMK wants to make it an election issue.
In a bold and decisive move against the National Education Policy (NEP), the Tamil Nadu government replaced the official rupee symbol (₹) with a Tamil character in the state’s 2025 Budget. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s announcement that the rupee symbol will be used in the state’s budget logo for 2025-26 underscores the significant impact of this decision. The ruling DMK is in confrontation on many issues, including language issues.
In a recent post on X, Stalin shared a teaser video of the new logo. It said, “To ensure the widespread development of Tamil Nadu and benefit all sections of society,” along with the hashtag #DravidianModel and #TNBudget2025. The logo also said, “Everything for all,” clearly reflecting the DMK’s unwavering commitment to inclusive governance.
The government released a logo with ‘ru,’ the first letter of the Tamil word ‘Rubaai,’ meaning currency. The logo has the caption “Everything for All.” This is intended to show the government’s commitment to inclusivity and aims to create unity and belonging among its diverse population.
The disagreement over the three-language formula under the National Education Policy (NEP) has escalated further. The new controversy further fuels the ongoing political tensions between Tamil Nadu and the Central government, particularly regarding language. Tamil Nadu has opposed the Centre’s three-language formula; it insists that Tamil Nadu will continue its two-language formula. The DMK says that Tamil Nadu will not accept ‘Hindi colonialism’ as a replacement for British colonialism. The Union government accuses the state government of being “dishonest” and harming students’ futures for political reasons.
In its budget document, Tamil Nadu replaced the rupee symbol with the Tamil letter “ரூ.” This shows that the government is committed to protecting Tamil culture. In contrast, the BJP-led central government supports using Hindi as a third language across India. Tamil Nadu promotes linguistic diversity and encourages pride in its culture and identity.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a scathing attack on DMK. She said the party should have protested when the UPA adopted the rupee symbol in 2010. DMK was part of the ruling UPA alliance at the Centre.
Tamil Nadu is the first state to reject the national currency symbol after 14 years. This shows the state’s ongoing resistance to the National Education Policy (NEP). The rupee symbol’ ₹’ was created by Udaya Kumar, the son of a former DMK MLA and currently works as a professor at IIT.
Before 2010, people used the abbreviations “Rs” or “INR” for the Indian Rupee in international markets. This is sometimes confused with the Pakistani and Sri Lankan rupees. In 2009, the Ministry of Finance held a contest for a new rupee symbol. They invited designers, artists, and the public to share their ideas. The goal was to create a symbol that showed India’s economic strength and reflected its cultural heritage.
This symbol shows India’s growing economic power and influence in the world. After extensive research, Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam created the Rupee (₹) symbol. He combined the Devanagari ‘र’ for Rupee with the Roman ‘R’ for rupee. This gives the symbol a unique Indian identity while making it easy for people everywhere to recognize.
However, the Tamil Nadu government does not support this symbol. They value their language and do not want to use a design based on the Devanagari script.
When the government proposed the bill on Thursday, BJP members and AIADMK members of the Tamil Nadu state assembly protested Stalin’s symbol change; this shows the ongoing political tension between the BJP-led central government and the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government.
The conflict between the Aryan and Dravidian communities is an important historical issue. Tamil Nadu vigorously defends the Tamil language and is the only state to reject the Rupee symbol. This decision could significantly affect the state’s economy and relationships with the central government and other states.
Chief Minister Stalin aims to maintain a strong image regarding the language issue.
The Indian Rupee is becoming more critical in the global economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) sees it as a possible international currency, along with China’s Renminbi (RMB). Many countries now accept the Rupee for payments. Additionally, India has made trade agreements that use the Rupee for exchanges.
The crux of the problem is whether Tamil Nadu should use a Two or three language formula. The concern is that learning a third language could be an additional burden for the students of Tamil Nadu and may also lead to the dominance of Hindi throughout India.
The Centre and the state should sit together and find a suitable formula.
