New Delhi: The Tamil government’s choice to substitute the Indian rupee symbol with a new emblem—the Tamil character ‘Ru’—has sparked significant political controversy amidst the ongoing language dispute. On Thursday, Chief Minister MK Stalin unveiled the logo online while presenting the Budget 2025-26 logo. This action has faced substantial backlash from the Opposition, with the Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) labeling it as “condemnable and laughable.”
This contentious decision by the Chief Minister has highlighted an ironic aspect: the previously used rupee symbol was created by a Tamilian, D Udaya Kumar.
Who is D Udaya Kumar?
D Udaya Kumar, who currently serves as a professor at IIT Guwahati, designed the Indian rupee symbol in 2010 during the tenure of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He is the son of N Dharmalingam, a former DMK MLA who represented the Rishivandiyam constituency in Tamil Nadu.
Mr. Kumar’s design was selected from a pool of 3,000 submissions nationwide, earning him an award of Rs 2.5 lakh. The symbol combines elements of Indian and Roman scripts—specifically, the capital ‘R’ and the Devanagari ‘Ra,’ which signifies rupaiah. It features two horizontal stripes at the top, symbolizing the national flag and the “equal to” sign.
The rupee symbol was officially adopted by the Centre on July 15, 2010.
According to his website, Mr. Kumar holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture and a Master’s Degree in Design (visual communication). He completed his PhD in design at the Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay. Additionally, he has served as a senior designer and later as the design head for a monthly publication, Intelligent Computing CHIP.
Mr. Kumar’s interests encompass visual communication design, architecture, and design research, with a particular emphasis on Tamil typography.
In an interview with NDTV, Mr. Kumar expressed pride in his creation but refrained from criticizing the state government, noting that such decisions do not affect him, as designers must be prepared to navigate challenges in their profession.
