Sir — The controversy over Teachers’ Day or Guru Utsav could have been averted if the Centre had made its position on the matter clear from the start.
Tamil Nadu’s politicians are vehemently against the terminology in the belief that the Centre is trying to impose Hindi or Sanskrit through the back door by organising events like this. We all know that September 5 is the day to pay tribute to one’s teacher or mentor. But politicians of Tamil Nadu have been prostrating before their ‘bosses’ rather unabashedly for many years on a daily basis over the years.
In a federal system like that which exists in India, the Centre should not be imposing issues on the States, especially matters relating to language. The Union Government must be careful even if its intentions are clean.