The change of the worldwide recognised ₹ symbol to the Tamil Nadu language has created a massive political controversy, and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called it a “dangerous mindset” and “promotes secessionist sentiments.”
But the controversy deepened when the minister informed them that the ₹ sign was also designed by Th. D Udaya Kumar, the son of former DMK MLA N. Dharmalingam.
“By erasing it now, the DMK is not only rejecting a national symbol but also utterly disregarding the creative contribution of a Tamil youth,” said Sitharaman.
Who Is Th. D Udaya Kumar Who designed ₹ ?
D Udaya Kumar, a professor at IIT Guwahati, designed the Indian rupee symbol in 2010 during the Manmohan Singh administration. He is the son of N Dharmalingam, a former DMK MLA from Tamil Nadu’s Rishivandiyam constituency. Mr Kumar’s design was chosen from 3,000 entries submitted nationwide, and he was awarded Rs 2.5 lakh. The emblem is a combination of Indian and Roman letters: capital ‘R’ and Devanagari ‘Ra’, which denote rupiah. It has two horizontal stripes at the top, which represent the national flag and the “equal to” sign.
According to his website, Mr Kumar holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture and a Master’s Degree in Design (visual communication). He earned his PhD in design from the Industrial Design Centre at IIT Bombay. The Indian rupee designer has also worked as a senior designer and then as a design head for a monthly magazine called Intelligent Computing CHIP. Mr Kumar’s interests include visual communication design, architecture, and design research, with a particular concentration on Tamil typography.
What Did Sitharaman Say ?
“If the DMK (@arivalayam) has a problem with ‘₹’, why didn’t it protest back in 2010 when it was officially adopted under the @INCIndia-led UPA government, at a time when the DMK was part of the ruling alliance at the Centre?”
“Moreover, the Tamil word ‘Rupaai’ (ரூபாய்) itself has deep roots in the Sanskrit word ‘Rupya,’ meaning ‘wrought silver’ or ‘a worked silver coin.’ This term has resonated across centuries in Tamil trade and literature, and even today, ‘Rupaai’ remains the currency name in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.
In fact, several countries, including Indonesia, the Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, officially use ‘Rupee’ or its ‘equivalent/derivatives’ as their currency name.
Rupee symbol ‘₹’ is internationally well-recognized and serves as a visible identity of India in global financial transactions. At a time when India is pushing for cross-border payments using UPI, should we really be undermining our own national currency symbol?” she said on X.
