DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran found himself at the centre of a controversy after his remarks on the status of girls in North India sparked sharp criticism, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanding an unconditional apology from the DMK leader. Maran on Tuesday sparked debate by claiming that in northern states, girls are often expected to stay at home and do household work, while Tamil Nadu encourages girls to study and pursue their careers.
While addressing the students in Quaid-E-Millath Government College for Women, Maran also praised Tamil Nadu as the best state in India and lauded Chief Minister MK Stalin.
"Our girl students should be proud, and we are proud of them. That's why we want girls' children to study. In North Indian states, they ask girl children not to go to a job, ask them to stay inside their house and do housework holds but we wanted our girl children to study," he had said on Tuesday.
BJP Demands Apology
BJP leader Narayanan Thirupathy demanded that Maran apologise to the people of North India.
"I don't think Dayanidhi Maran has any common sense. So this is the problem. I strongly condemn Dayanidhi Maran,” Narayanan Thirupathy told ANI.
“He has to apologise to the people of India, particularly the Hindi-speaking people, whom he says are uneducated and uncivilised,” he added.
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Does Data Support Maran’s Claim?
The 2011 Census data supports the DMK leader’s claim. The data shows that Tamil Nadu has a female literacy rate of about 73.44 per cent. This value is higher than most of the North India states including Rajasthan (52.12 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (57.18 per cent) and Haryana (65.94 per cent). Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh has a higher rate than Tamil Nadu at 75.93 per cent.