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Hindi 
In a move that has sparked heated debate, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s government replaced the Indian rupee symbol “₹” with the Tamil script “ரூ” in the state’s 2025-26 budget logo. The new logo featuring the Tamil letter “ரூ” derived from the syllable of the Tamil word and the caption “Everything for All,” is a clear statement of Tamil pride and identity. However, the decision has ignited controversy across political lines.
Breaking : @mkstalin 's Tamil Nadu Government replaces the Hindi ₹ symbol with the Tamil Rupee Symbol in all official texts of the State Budget.
— Roshan Rai (@RoshanKrRaii) March 13, 2025
Tamil Nadu fighting tooth and nail to keep ots Tamil identity alive. #TNBudget2025 #TamilnaduLeads @TNleadsIndia pic.twitter.com/nJpdRm5iZe
BJP Chief in Tamil Nadu, K Annamalai has argued that banning the rupee symbol, a design conceptualised by Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam, a Tamilian academic whose work was nationally adopted is both ironic and insulting to our own Tamil people. But that symbol has been rooted in the Hindi language derived from the Hindi word “Rupiah” and the Hindi letter “ र ” which the Stalin government wanted to oppose completely even though it can be made by a Tamil person.
Stalin is in beast mode, he has decided to take on Modi with full force.@mkstalin has replaced the Hindu rupee symbol with a Tamil logo and stated that this country belongs to everyone, not just to the people of the Hindi heartland.
— Dr Nimo Yadav 2.0 (@niiravmodi) March 13, 2025
This has put Modi on the back foot, I hope… pic.twitter.com/t1bwYXSoSt
Nonetheless, Stalin’s supporters view his move as a tactical reaction to what they believe is the central government’s (BJP) imposition of Hindi and an effort to safeguard the regional linguistic heritage in a bold move. For a long time, the DMK-led administration has actively opposed changing Three Languages policy as promoted by the now ruling BJP-led central government maintaining that these very policies threaten the life of native languages in India.
In fact, Stalin has a strong point as Hindi being a third language has made over 25 native North Indian languages to perish slowly. But the debate goes beyond just who made the rupee symbol. For the Tamil Nadu government, the change amounts to a reclamation of Tamil identity and protection of the language from any fate of being extinguished as opposed to strumming some personal vendetta against historical design choices. The ongoing discourse continues being a mirror to deeper tensions over language, identity and power in state.
