Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan on Monday said singing Tamil Thai Vazhthu after Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana cannot be construed as an insult to the State song.

Addressing the graduands at the 11th Convocation of Central University of Tamil Nadu at Neelakudi near Tiruvarur, he called upon them to keep the nation first in their every action. “But, unfortunately, everything is being politicised in Tamil Nadu. They ask why Tamil Thai Vazhthu is not sung first. They say it is an insult. Can you insult the national song?” he asked.

“Who said it is an insult if it (Tamil Thai Vazhthu) is sung third? Can anybody insult their mother? When you cannot insult your mother and cannot insult your mother tongue, you cannot insult your motherland either. We should not politicise everything. When it has to be followed uniformly all over the country, we have to follow it.”

Mr. Radhakrishnan observed that Vande Mataram was the one word that made the nation a free country. In Tamil Nadu too, V.O. Chidambaram Pillai and Subramaniya Siva walked village-to-village with a single slogan ‘Vande Mataram’ to urge the people to fight against the British, he said.

Urging students to say no to drugs, he called upon the police to be “merciless” while taking action against the drug mafia. “Our youngsters’ minds should be controlled by themselves and not by any thing else,” he said. A total of 1,103 graduates received their degrees at the convocation, including 50 gold medallists, who distinguished themselves through academic excellence. Of the 1,103 graduates, 616 are women. Of the gold medallists, 37 were women.

Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Nagapattinam MP V. Selvaraj, CUTN Chancellor G. Padmanabhan, and Vice-Chancellor (in-charge) Sulochana Shekhar were among those who participated.

Published - August 17, 2026 11:47 pm IST