‘Hindi imposition’ row: South didn’t force North Indians to learn Tamil, says Stalin
Stalin says southern states didn't demand an organisation like Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha in North because they didn’t want to impose Tamil language on others
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday (February 4) once again urged the Centre not to “impose” Hindi learning in the state, and learn from southern states which never made it mandatory for North Indians to learn their language.
‘Ever heard of Tamil Prachar Sabhas?’
Citing the example of Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha that was set up to help South Indians learn Hindi, Stalin asked why no such organisation was formed in North India for the propagation of Southern Indian languages. He added that it was because southern states never wanted to impose their language on others.
Also read: Telugu states never disliked Hindi; it’s partly politics, the rest is history
“A century has passed since the Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha was set up to make South Indians learn Hindi. How many Uttar Bharat Tamil Prachar Sabhas have been established in North India in all these years? Truth is, we never demanded that North Indians must learn Tamil or any South Indian language to ‘preserve’ them,” he said in a post on X.
‘Leave TN alone’, Stalin tells Centre
“All we ask is to #StopHindiImposition on us. If BJP-ruled states want to teach 3 languages or even 30, let them! Just leave Tamil Nadu alone!” the DMK chief added.
Stalin’s argument also features in his series of letters in DMK mouthpiece Murasoli launched to educate the state’s youth on Tamil Nadu’s language movement.
'No third language in North'
The post comes a day after Stalin questioned the necessity for students in the south to learn a third language when the same was not being imposed on their counterparts in the north.
Also read: Tamil can relax; languages 'killed' by Hindi up North are making a comeback
“Some guardians of lopsided policies, wailing in great concern, ask, ‘Why are you denying Tamil Nadu students the opportunity to learn a third language?’ Well, why don’t they first say which third language is being taught up north? If they had just taught two languages properly there, where’s the need for us to learn a third?” he posted on X.
Read our special stories on the language row here
