Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi sparked yet another controversy by urging students to chant the Hindutva slogan “Jai Shri Ram” at a college event in Madurai.
During a prize distribution ceremony at Madurai’s Thiagarajar Engineering College on April 12, Ravi urged students to chant “Jai Shri Ram” thrice during his address.
Ravi invited students to chant “Jai Sri Ram” as a tribute to Kambar’s devotion to Lord Ram, the central figure of his epic Kamba Ramayanam.
“Let us pay tribute to Kambar by paying tribute to the one he was a great devotee of, Prabhu Shri Ram. I’ll say, and you say Jai Sri Ram!” he said.
The episode triggered outrage from political leaders and academic circles, accusing him of religious partisanship and violations of constitutional norms.
The State Platform for Common School System – Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN), an organization comprising educationists, condemned this by stating, “Mr. RN Ravi violated his oath of office. He failed to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions.”
“Mr. R. N. Ravi was invited as the Chief Guest in his capacity as the Governor of the State of Tamil Nadu. He was not invited as a preacher of a particular religion. He was not asked to give a religious sermon,” they said.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
