Udhayanidhi Stalin, Tamil Nadu Deputy CM, claims Hindi imposition threatens Tamil language survival, echoing its negative impact on North Indian languages
CHENNAI — Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin stirred controversy on Wednesday, February 19, by saying that the imposition of Hindi in Tamil Nadu would threaten the survival of the Tamil language, similar to its impact on various North Indian languages, such as Rajasthani, Haryanvi, Bhojpuri, and Bihar, reported Livemint.
“Hindi destroyed the local languages of states in the north such as Rajasthan, Haryanvi, Bhojpuri and other Bihari languages and has become the primary local language. The same will happen if Hindi is implemented in Tamil Nadu too,” he said, as quoted by Times of India.
He added that nearly 99 per cent of Tamils working in prestigious organisations like ISRO or abroad “were from govt schools who did not study Hindi.”
His statements came as DMK organised a major protest in Chennai against the BJP-led union government concerning the New Education Policy, the Trilingual Language System (Hindi imposition), and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Many cadres from the DMK and alliance parties participated in the protest, holding placards that called for the Central Government to release funds to Tamil Nadu and to refrain from imposing a trilingual language policy in the state. Tamil Nadu ministers, including Anbil Mahesh Poiyamozhi, Sekar Babu, and Ma. Subramanian, as well as DMK MLAs and MPs such as Tamilachi Thangapandian and Kanimozhi Somu, also joined the protest.
While speaking in the protest, Dy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin said, “To save the Education and Language of our state, I have come here to protest against the Union Government; I have not come to participate in this protest as a DyCM. I have come here to participate in a DMK youth wing cadre. In the union budget 2025, the funds that must be shared with all states were majorly given to Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat states, and Tamilnadu was neglected completely.”
He added that the people of Tamil Nadu would never accept the Trilingual language policy. Tamil people would never be subjugated, and this was a matter of self-respect, he said, adding that the state has a long history of protesting against the imposition of Hindi and for education.
The Deputy CM also questioned why AIADMK is remaining silent on this issue. “AIADMK must firmly oppose the NEP, and we have to protest jointly against it. The party (AIADMK) bearing the name of Anna (former Chief Minister C N Annadurai) and Dravida should not remain silent on this issue,” he said.
MK Stalin vs Dharmendra Pradhan’s recent Hindi language argument
Tensions rose between DMK and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday after the later said that the Centre will implement the New Education Policy (NEP) nationwide, dismissing Tamil Nadu’s opposition as “political”. Pradhan said there was nothing wrong with students in Tamil Nadu being multilingual and learning other languages. “It can be Tamil, English and other Indian languages,” he told reporters in Delhi.
