Chennai : Political parties in Tamil Nadu, including the allies of BJP, Monday came out against the central government’s decision to rename Teachers Day (‘Aasiriyar Dhinam’ in Tamil) as “Guru Utsav”, terming the move as imposition of Sanskrit.
Welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to address the school children through video conferencing on that day, PMK founder S. Ramadoss termed it as the first time such an initiative is taken in India, but said the decision to rename the day as Guru Utsav cannot be accepted as it is an attempt to impose Sanskrit indirectly.
MDMK leader Vaiko too opposed the move to rename Teachers Day as Guru Utsav.
DMK president M. Karunanidhi said the central government is trying to downgrade the Tamil language by renaming the Teachers Day.
Teachers Day is celebrated Sep 5 – on the birth anniversary of India’s second president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who was also a renowned philosopher and scholar.