Karunanidhi recites Hindi poem in public

CHENNAI: Under attack over his recent remarks on Lord Ram and the strong reaction they evoked in the North, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has apparently sought to reach out to his detractors by reciting a Hindi poem in a public meeting, an unprecedented act on the part of Dravidian leader known once for his strong anti-Hindi stance.

Addressing a public meeting late last night in support of the demand for speedy implementation of the Sethusamudram project, he surprised the audience by asking them to join him in reciting the poem.

"Hindustan hai desh hamara, janse apne humko pyara. Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Isaai aapas main hain bhai bhai. Bhai hoga bhai hamara, aisa hoga chalan hamara (India is our country and we love it more than our lives. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians are all brothers. Brothers will be brothers, such will be our conduct).

In the meeting he also chided 'communal' forces for invoking the name of Ram for putting 'obstacles' in the Sethusamudram project. He said the same communal forces had killed Mahatma Gandhi when he was uttering the name of Ram while singing a bhajan.
    
This is the first time in decades of his public life, Kaunanidhi has spoken in Hindi, a language that was abolished in schools and colleges when DMK government came to power in 1967 after the anti-Hindi agitation that rocked the then Madras state and led to the exit of the Congress government.