Splainer FREE: Tamil Thug Life

Aaj ki khabar includes the Kamal Haasan vs Kannadigas jhagda, quick commerce’s hottest new idea and a new email phishing technique. Our fave bit: Ed the zebra being airlifted home.

Jun 11, 2025

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Trump’s ICE raids trigger chaos in LA

The TLDR: Over the weekend, ICE launched sweeping raids across LA—arresting 100, sparking protests, and prompting Trump to deploy the National Guard in a move not seen since 1965. Civil rights groups called it a “oppressive and vile paramilitary” crackdown, as the White House doubled down on workplace arrests to ramp up deportations.

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

Kannada vs Tamil: Kamal Haasan flick sparks language war

Language wars in India are framed almost entirely as a North vs South issue—with Tamil Nadu leading the battle against the hegemony of Hindi. But the controversy over Kamal Haasan’s new movie revealed a problem overlooked in national headlines—resentment of Tamil supremacy.

First, some background: The gangster flick ‘Thug Life’ marks the first collaboration between industry legends Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam since 1987. As with other A-list Tamil films, it was slated for release on June 5 across South India—including Karnataka.

FYI: Telugu films rule the South Indian market—while Tamil comes in second. Malayalam films often struggle for wide distribution, even in the South.

Kamal’s foot meets mouth: On May 24, the actor made a speech at a promotional event in Chennai—on stage with one of its stars, Kannada film star Shiva Rajkumar. It was a bit of a PR disaster:

He started his speech saying, “Uyire Urave Tamizhe (My life and my family are Tamil).” Later, referring to Kannada actor Shiva Rajkumar, who was on the stage, Haasan said, “You are my family, residing in Karnataka, and hence, you came all the way here. When I started the speech, I said that my life and my family are Tamil. Your language (Kannada) was born out of Tamil, and hence you are part of it.”

The fallout: was intense and immediate. State leaders jumped on his comments as “height of arrogance”—as did groups advocating Kannadiga pride—like Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV). They ripped down the movie posters and threatened Haasan: "We are warning you that if you talk against Kannada and Kannadigas we have to ban your movie."

Kamal doubles down: Despite the pressure, Haasan refused to apologise for his remarks—saying they were made out of “affection and admiration” for Kannada and Kannadigas. An outraged KRV then declared that any Karnataka theatre screening the movie will be set on fire. More notably, the Karnataka High Court sided with KRV—when the film producers sought its protection:

[Senior advocate Dhyan] Chinappa had argued that blocking the film’s release infringed on the rights of those who wanted to watch it, but the court pushed back, saying fame cannot shield one from responsibility. “You want police protection, but are unwilling to utter one word that could calm the unrest. You are sticking to your stand because of your ego,” Justice Nagaprasanna remarked.

Wtf is going on here?: Resentment against Tamil ‘arrogance’ isn’t new—especially in matters of language. And it is well-earned, as noted author Perumal Murugan explains:

Actor Kamal Haasan’s remark that “Kannada was born from Tamil”... is not a new idea; it has existed within the Tamil discourse for two centuries. Robert Caldwell and other linguists have said Dravidian languages branched off from a shared language, termed Proto-Dravidian. However, Tamil nationalists have never accepted this view. They have claimed that all Dravidian languages are offshoots of Tamil. At its peak, this belief extended to proclaiming that Tamil is the world’s first language and that all other world languages were born from it.

Fact-checking Tamil exceptionalism: Haasan has since admitted he wasn’t “qualified” to talk about matters best left to experts. Those experts—like historian Anirudh Kanisetti—dispute his claim:

The language that became Tamil…branched off around 600 BCE, roughly when the first cities were growing on the Gangetic Plains far to the North…We can say with confidence that the ancestor of Kannada is not Tamil: it is a lost South Dravidian language related both to the languages of the Nilgiris and to Old Tamil. Unfortunately, the earliest written examples of Kannada date to c. 450 CE, so we don’t have a clear picture of how the language evolved in the centuries prior.

The mother of all Dravidian tongues: Most experts agree that a ‘proto Dravidian’ language birthed the five modern South Indian languages—Tamil, Tulu, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam. (In fact, some claim a version of this ancient language—Brahui—is still spoken in parts of Iran, Afghanistan and Balochistan.) Tamil was the first to break away from the ‘mother tongue’, so to speak—followed by Tulu and then Kannada. In other words, these languages are siblings—not children—of Tamil.

The big picture: For all this brouhaha over ‘Thug Life’, language activists remain united in their loathing for Hindi. The very same Karnataka Rakshana Vedike has been at the forefront of anti-Hindi protests in Karnataka—and vocally supported TN CM Stalin’s decision to replace the Devanagari script’s rupee symbol with the Tamil equivalent in Tamil Nadu. Its president said at the time:

The Dravidian movement of Tamil Nadu, which has continuously confronted all the attempts of the Hindi fanatics of North India, who are pushing South India into permanent slavery on the basis of language, has bent them down and stopped their vicious behaviour, is the pride of the entire South Indian Dravidian speakers.

As for ‘Thug Life’: There is no official Karnataka release date as of now. The Supreme Court will hear on Friday a plea challenging the de facto ban on the film—imposed through these threats and intimidation. And the High Court isn’t impressed with Kamal’s non-apology.

Reading list: We primarily covered this controversy because it offers an interesting peek into a different kind of culture war—and linguistic history. For more on that angle, read South First and Kanisetti in The Print. The excellent Hindu op-ed by Perumal Murugan is paywalled.

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For more in splainer LITE…

Pep comes out in support of Gaza
Ed the zebra was lost, found and airlifted home
Trailer for the prequel to Scott’s ‘Alien’ has dropped
Diljit Dosanjh plays desi Sherlock detective in new movie

what caught our eye

business & tech

Wall Street Journal (splainer gift link) has a good read on how Google’s AI search is gutting news sites—slashing traffic as chatbots sideline traditional links.
Tina Nguyen in The Verge documents her experience at the 2025 Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas which saw a significant political shift, with major crypto companies like Coinbase endorsing Donald Trump and the GOP.
The US State Department is turning to its in-house AI chatbot to help pick staff for promotion review panels.
India’s 10-minute delivery craze is turning empty city corners and tier-2 lots into booming micro-warehouses.
Uber’s going driverless in London—teaming up with Wayve to kick off public-road trials of fully autonomous cars as part of its big European push.

sports & entertainment

Enrique Iglesias fans, rejoice! The Spanish popstar is coming back to India after a gap of 13 years for a concert in Mumbai.
British spirits giant Diageo is reportedly planning to sell a part of its stake in the RCB franchise thanks to its soaring valuations post winning the IPL.

health & environment

The Hindu looks at a PTI investigation into the inaccurate heatwave death toll amidst the country’s heatwaves worsening.
A new US study shows popular weight-loss drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide don’t work as well outside clinical trials—mostly because people stop taking them or lower their doses.
The Conversation answers the big Q: Do people really resemble their dogs?

meanwhile, in the world

Hamas must no longer rule Gaza and must hand over its weapons, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas has declared in a letter to Macron.
The US has slapped sanctions on a top Palestinian legal aid group and five other charities—accusing them of ‘supporting Hamas and other militant groups’ under the guise of humanitarian work in Gaza.
A 21-year-old opened fire at his school in Austria—killing at least ten people.
The World Bank says global growth will limp to just 2.3% this year—its slowest in 17 years outside of a recession and the US to just 1.4%, nearly a full percentage point lower than earlier estimates—as tariffs and associated economic uncertainty kill off hopes of a 'soft landing'.
Anti-ICE protests that rocked LA are now going national—30+ new demonstrations are planned this week.
LA’s mayor announced a curfew over parts of the city. Plus, California is suing Trump for deploying troops to LA without approval—Governor Newsom says it’s “the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial president.” BBC News has a full rundown on the chaos rocking LA.
New York Times (splainer gift link) has a good read on the age-old travel writer’s dilemma: shout about hidden gems—or keep quiet before they’re mobbed by tourists.
Trump just signed an executive order to reverse the ban on civilian supersonic flights. Gizmodo explains why this is a bad idea.
World’s most popular TikTok star—Khaby Lame—has left the US after being briefly detained in Vegas for allegedly overstaying his visa
Greta Thunberg has been deported to France, a day after her Gaza-bound aid boat was intercepted by Israel.
US Health Secretary RFK Jr—long known for his anti-vax stance—has sacked all 17 members of the federal vaccine advisory panel.

meanwhile, in India

BBC News Hindi says at least 82 people died in the Maha Kumbh stampedes in Prayagraj—far higher than the UP government’s official toll of 37.
Extreme poverty may be down—but a new study says millions in India still can’t afford two full meals a day.
India has deported over 300 people from Assam to Bangladesh since May—rights groups say many were poor, long-time residents tossed out without due process.
Beef consumption in Kashmir has sparked outrage among Kashmiri Pandits—reviving calls to reinstate a scrapped law that once banned cow slaughter in the Valley.
Over a year on, 16 Indians forced into Russia’s war are still missing—families are now heading to Moscow for answers.
A fire-hit Singapore cargo ship off Kerala is now tilting dangerously—rescue crews fear it may sink with hazardous cargo onboard.
India’s population is set to hit 1.46 billion in 2025—even as fertility rates dip below replacement levels, says UN.
SITHA, a new women-only gig app offering everything from home services to digital consulting, has launched in Hyderabad to promote flexible, dignified work for women.