Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has taken a stringently aggressive stance over what he feels and claims is an attempt by the central government to “impose” Hindi across the country. Stalin of course, is concerned about his state, Tamil Nadu. Linguistic chauvinism is not new to Tamil Nadu. Tamil identity has been the main plank of the Dravidian Movement.
Interestingly, it is only the DMK leadership in Tamil Nadu which has been feeling the “Hindi threat” to the Tamil language, while no other language like Telugu, Kannad, Malayalam, etc, feels any challenge or threat to its existence.
The latest bone of contention is the new National Education Policy of the government of India, which Stalin has rejected. IN a strongly worded message, he said the target was the Tamil language the same way local languages of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were “swallowed” by Hindi.
In an aggressive and blunt message on the microblogging site ‘X’, he wrote on February 27, “my dear sisters and brothers from other states, ever wondered how many Indian languages Hindi has swallowed? Bhojpuri, Maithili, Awadhi, Braj, Bundeli, Garhwali, Kumaoni, Magahi, Marwari, Malvi, Chhattisgarhi, Santhali, Angika, Ho, Kharia, Khortha, Kurmali, Kurukh, Mundari and many more are now gasping for survival,” he claimed, adding, “the push for a monolithic Hindi identity is what kills ancient mother tongues. UP and Bihar were never just Hindi heartlands. Their real languages are now relics of the past.”
According to Stalin, “Hindi is a language that emerged a few centuries ago from the blending of Sanskrit and other languages. In contrast, Tamil is a language that is thousands of years old, considered the mother tongue that gave rise to the languages of the Dravidian family.”
The Tamil Nadu government has been opposing the “three-language” formula of the central government. The “three-language” formula is not new but has been in practice for a long time. According to this formula, the students can opt for English, Hindi and the local/native language.
It is not for the first time that a Tamil political party has resisted the teaching of Hindi in Tamil Nadu.
Way back in 1967, when the Congress was in power at the centre, and under the three language formula, Hindi was offered as one of the three languages, there was a widespread anti-Hindi movement in the state.
Interestingly, the Congress, after 58 years, has been siding with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader Stalin on the language issue. Congress faced the same hostility at that time in Tamil Nadu, the way the BJP is being made to face on the issue of “imposition” of Hindi there, now.
There is much more in the “anti-Hindi” rhetoric than merely the love for the “mother tongue”. Tamil Nadu is going for polls next year. Although the Bharatiya Janata Party does not have any significant presence in the state, yet the Tamil parties particularly the DMK are apprehensive of its challenge.
Stalin, in a shrewd and strategic move, has started identifying the BJP with “Hindi” and projecting it as a party that is against the “Tamil” language.
This “anti-Hindi” rhetoric is likely to grow further as the state elections come closer, which are, in any case, only a year away. Stalin’s “anti-Hindi” tirade needs to be viewed in the context of his son Udhyanidhi Stalin’s “anti-Sanatan” statement, which he not only defended but also reiterated.
Congress will have to play a delicate and balanced role in the entire issue. The Congress is the alliance partner of the DMK in Tamil Nadu. It has been playing second fiddle to the DMK, a party that was once fiercely opposed to the Congress.
The foundations of the Dravidian movement were laid down on the anti-Congress plank.
The party must revisit its 1967 position on Hindi as part of the “three language formula”. If the formula was right then, it cannot be wrong this time, just because it is being driven by the BJP government at the centre.
Linguistic chauvinism is as dangerous as religious chauvinism. Both are divisive. And given the polarized political atmosphere prevailing in the country, such triggers can prove to be dangerously divisive. Why is it only the Tamil language that is feeling threatened and no other language like Marathi, Kannad, Telugu, Bangla, Oriya or Malayalam?
Tamil Nadu needs Hindi more than any other state. Given the strong industrial base it has, it needs workers from the Hindi-speaking northern states like UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh etc.
Trying to put an iron curtain on Hindi can have grave implications for the state. Moreover, if the Tamil Nadu government does not have any objections to the teaching of English, why does it have so much hostility towards Hindi?
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