The TN government will celebrate the state’s history on both July 18 and November 1, says Vijay

ByTech Word News

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay. | Photo credit: B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Saturday announced that the state government will celebrate both November 1, the day the erstwhile Madras State was formed, and July 18, the day former Chief Minister CN Annadurai moved a resolution in the Assembly to rename the state ‘Tamil Nadu’.

“Let us pledge to make Tamil Nadu, the birthplace of the classical Tamil language nurtured by the Tamil Sangams, the number one state in education, technology and human development,” he said on social media. “May the sweetness of Tamil, the rich culture of Tamils ​​and the spirit of humanism flourish for generations to come,” he added.

Anbumani’s request

A few days ago, Pattali Makkal Katchi leader Anbumani Ramadoss urged the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam-led government to declare November 1 as Tamil Nadu Day instead of July 18. When the AIADMK was in power, the then Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami announced that November 1 would be celebrated as Tamil Nadu Day. However, after the DMK came to power in 2021, it changed the observance to 18 July.

The then Chief Minister MK Stalin said his government decided to change the date based on the input of several political parties, Tamil scholars and enthusiasts. They argued that the erstwhile composite states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala were carved out of the erstwhile state of Madras between 1953 and 1956. Since the present day state came into existence on 1 November 1956, they argued that it would not be appropriate to observe that date as Tamil Nadu Day.

Language Martyrs Day

In a post on social media, former minister Thangam Thennarasu said November 1 cannot be celebrated as Tamil Nadu Day as it lost a lot when the states were reorganized along linguistic lines. That was the argument of the Tamil scholars, he said. Mr. Stalin announced that November 1 would instead be observed as Linguistic Martyrs’ Day to honor those who laid down their lives fighting to protect the territorial boundaries of Tamil Nadu, he added.

Published – 19 Jul 2026 0:49 AM IST