A R Rahman wades into Tamil Nadu ‘autonomy’ debate

Rahman tends to shy away from controversies and politics, but has been following the debate of the alleged “imposition of Hindi” through the three-language policy.

With political parties in Tamil Nadu reviving the issue of autonomy in state matters, and warning of a major protest against the BJP-led Centre if the government fails to clarify the role of Hindi in its proposed three-language policy, musician A R Rahman on Tuesday waded into the controversy with a cryptic tweet.

The Oscar-winning musician, who is known to wear his Tamil identity on his sleeve, wrote, “AUTONOMOUS | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary,” and shared a web link of the word’s meaning in the dictionary.

Rahman’s tweets went viral within hours — his supporters started trending the hashtag ‘#autonomousTamilNadu’, while those who opposed him began targeting him personally.

Rahman tends to shy away from controversies and politics, but has been following the debate of the alleged “imposition of Hindi” through the three-language policy.

On Sunday, he tweeted about the Centre dropping the provision of compulsory teaching of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states, writing in Tamil, “Good decision. Hindi is not compulsory in Tamil Nadu. The draft has been corrected.”