Rupee Symbol Dropped By Stalin Govt Was Designed By Tamil Nadu Man — Meet Udaya Kumar
Tamil Nadu state government has replaced the rupee symbol with the Tamil letter 'Ru' in the state budget logo, sparking controversy amid the ongoing three-language policy debate.
A row has erupted in Tamil Nadu after the MK Stalin government in the state replaced the rupee symbol with the Tamil letter for 'Ru' in the state budget logo. The development comes amid the ongoing controversy over the three-language policy.
The MK Stlain dispensation has been opposing the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) and the three-language policy.
It is perhaps the first time when any state has dropped the national currency symbol.
The controversy comes ahead of the tabling of the state budget 2025-26 by Tamil Nadu finance minister Thangam Thennarasu on Friday. The logo used by the DMK government carries 'ru', the first letter of the Tamil word 'Rubaai', which denotes the Indian currency in the vernacular language.
The logo carries the caption "everything for all", indicating what the ruling DMK claims is its inclusive model of governance.
ALSO READ | Telangana Police Issue Warning For Holi 2025: 'No Throwing Colours On Unwilling Persons, No Public Nuisance'
BJP Slam DMK
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in the state has slammed the DMK for this move. The party's state unit chief K Annamalai pointed that the current symbol for rupee has been deigned by a Tamilian who is also the son of a former DMK MLA.
"The DMK Government's State Budget for 2025-26 replaces the Rupee Symbol designed by a Tamilian, which was adopted by the whole of Bharat and incorporated into our Currency. Thiru Udhay Kumar, who designed the symbol, is the son of a former DMK MLA," Annamalai said in a post no X.
"How stupid can you become, Thiru @mkstalin?" he added.
Party leader Tamilisai Soundarajan asked the Stalin government why do they want to "dramatise" the budget like this when they have ruled the state for so long and have presented budget so many times.
" They were in the centre for so many years why didn't they take this decision at that time? It (Indian currency symbol ₹) is a federal setup, and they have to respect the national symbols," she asserted.
She also clarified "This does not mean we are against Tamil symbols or the Tamil language; we are in favour of it."
"I even have a Tamil name and MK Stalin does not... They are doing all this to deviate from the failures of the Tamil Nadu government...," Soundarajan said.
ALSO READ | Video Shows Mob Trying To Break Into Maharashtra Mosque, Owaisi Says 'Masjid Attacked In Police Presence'
Who Is Udaya Kumar?
Udaya Kumar, who designed the current rupee symbol, is second of the four children born to N Dharmalingam, a contractor, and Jayalakshmin in 1978 in Chennai.
He completed his bachelor's in architecture from Anna University where he designed posters and publications that helped him define his calling, visual design, reported The Times of India.
In an earlier interview with TOI, Kumar said he realised that Indian scripts do not have their design repertoire.
"After two years of trying to create something new in Tamil typography, I realised that I shouldn't work on my own. I needed expert guidance and hence, came to the Industrial Design Centre at IIT-Bombay," he had said.
The process for designing the simple-looking Indian rupee symbol didn't come easy for Kumar. "I spent endless nights on trial and error," he said.
Kumar stressed the need for the symbol to have universal design features while staying Indian in spirit.
Top Headlines
