Tamil Nadu Minister Sparks Controversy Over North Indian Women (Image Source: X/Dr. T R B Rajaa)
National News: Tamil Nadu Industries Minister TRB Rajaa created controversy after comparing how women are treated in Tamil Nadu and North India. Speaking at an event at Ethiraj College for Women, Rajaa said, “Being a woman in Tamil Nadu is different from being a woman in other states of India. A hundred years ago, women in India were not even treated as humans. In North India, things have hardly changed. People ask a woman, ‘Where does your husband work?’ In Tamil Nadu, we ask, ‘Where do you work?’ This change took at least a century in Tamil Nadu.”
TRB Rajaa’s comments were supported by DMK senior leader TKS Elangovan, who said, “In North India, women are often limited to being housewives because of religious rules. They follow Manusmriti, which we do not. The DMK government has always tried to empower women.” However, the remarks drew strong criticism from political leaders. BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla wrote on X, accusing the DMK of insulting UP, Bihar, and North India. Former BJP Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan also criticized the statements, saying, “This shows the narrow mindset of DMK. How can religion be mixed with progress? Even women of Tamil Nadu will not accept this. People should punish DMK. This is cheap politics.”
This is not the first time such comparisons have caused tension. Earlier this year, senior Tamil Nadu Minister Durai Murugan faced backlash for saying North Indian culture included polygamy. At a public event in March, Murugan claimed, “In our culture, one man marries one woman. In North India, one woman can marry five or ten men, or five men can marry one woman. If one leaves, another comes.” His remarks were seen as referencing Draupadi’s marriage to the five Pandavas in the Mahabharata and came at a time of rising tensions over language debates and proposed delimitation exercises.
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