Tale behind the change of a government department’s name in Tamil Nadu
The Tamil Nadu government has renamed the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department to the Social Justice Department. This change reflects a long-standing political proposal that had previously stalled during earlier administrations.
Why it matters
Renaming government departments often signals a shift in political priorities and ideological focus regarding caste-based welfare and social equity in Indian state politics.
The recent change, carried out by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government, in the nomenclature of the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department as the Social Justice Department in Tamil Nadu has a fairly long history.
Veteran civil servant Vishwanath A. Shegaonkar, who was Secretary of the Adi-Dravidar and Tribal Welfare department in the later part of the DMK regime of 2006-11, had told this correspondent then that the proposal to change the name of the department was the only file of his department which had eluded a solution from the Cabinet.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in