Stalin sees hidden message in Tamilisai’s trilingual birthday wish
Stalin has delivered a sharp yet measured response, highlighting Tamil Nadu’s firm stance against forced language policies and Hindi imposition
Amid the “anti-Hindi-imposition” language war brewing in Tamil Nadu, even a birthday wish has assumed political significance. Chief Minister MK Stalin has read BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan’s trilingual birthday wish posted for him as an endorsement of the Centre’s three-language policy that his government is opposed to.
Soundararajan on March 1 wished Stalin in Tamil, English, and Telugu on Facebook. In reply, Stalin has delivered a sharp yet measured response, highlighting Tamil Nadu’s firm stance against forced language policies and the imposition of Hindi. He went on to state that whatever Soundararajan’s intent may have been, she had “inadvertently reaffirmed Tamil Nadu’s strong opposition to the imposition of a third language”.
Also read: ‘Hindi imposition’ row: South didn’t force North Indians to learn Tamil, says Stalin
Stalin’s message
“BJP leader and my dear sister Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan extended her wishes in three languages. This comes at a time when I had already issued a birthday message explaining why we oppose the three-language policy. By choosing to wish me in Tamil, English, and Telugu, she has expressed both her personal affection and her party’s ideology. I sincerely thank her for her message,” he said in a detailed post on X.
“Interestingly, her greeting did not include Hindi,” Stalin pointed out, adding that that itself reflected “the prevailing sentiment in Tamil Nadu”. “She wished me first in Tamil and English, followed by Telugu. However, as someone born and raised in Tamil Nadu, I do not know Telugu, I have never studied it. On the other hand, Tamilisai, who served as the Governor of Telangana, may have picked up Telugu over time. But she did not learn it through forced schooling; rather, she acquired it naturally through experience,” he went on.
Also read: Tamil can relax; languages 'killed' by Hindi up North are making a comeback
No forced imposition
Emphasizing the core Dravidian ideology, Stalin remarked, “This example reinforces the Dravidian movement’s stance: no language should be forcibly imposed. Those who find it necessary will learn an additional language on their own. By greeting me in three languages, Tamilisai has inadvertently reaffirmed Tamil Nadu’s strong opposition to the imposition of a third language.”
“After all, she is the daughter of the esteemed Tamil scholar Kumari Ananthan, who was honoured with the ‘Thagaisal Tamilar’ award under our Dravidian Model government,” he concluded.
Read our special stories on the language row here.
