In Tamil Nadu, the allegation that the Center is trying to impose Hindi is a sensitive subject.
Chennai:
A leader of the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu has controversially called Hindi the language of “yet developed states” and said its implementation would give “Shudra” status to Tamils.
DMK Rajya Sabha member TKS Elangovan has also said that the implementation of Hindi in the southern states is tantamount to “Manu Dharma”.
In a meeting organized to protest the imposition of Hindi, Mr. Elangovan said, “Hindi will not do us anything. Hindi is not the mother tongue in developed states including West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.”
“Hindi is the mother tongue in developed states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and newly formed states. Then why should we learn Hindi?”
He also took a dig at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who has been advocating Hindi as an alternative to English in India. The DMK leader said, “Amit Shah had said that Hindi as a national language would give it global recognition. ‘Unity in diversity’ is the identity of India. Is Amit Shah Indian? I doubt it.”
Mr. Elangovan’s comments, and his use of the casteist term “Shudra” – to describe the lowest rung in the caste hierarchy, have gone viral.
In Tamil Nadu, the allegation that the Center is trying to impose Hindi is a sensitive subject. The DMK had successfully used this issue in the 1960s to garner public support and come to power.
The state government has even charged with implementing Hindi in the National Education Policy 2020 and made it clear that Tamil Nadu will follow its two-language formula of Tamil and English only.
Mr. Elangovan said that Tamil pride is 2,000 years old and the culture of Tamils has always been to practice equality, including gender.
He said, “They are trying to destroy the culture and trying to impose Manu Dharma through Hindi… It should not be allowed… If we did, we would be slaves, Shudras “
Mr Elangovan’s comments came after his party colleague and state higher education minister K Ponmudi recently said that Hindi-speaking people were selling “pani puri” in the state, in response to claims that learning the language would provide jobs.
“Many people said that if you learn Hindi you will get a job. Is it so… Look here in Coimbatore, who is selling pani puri. It is they (Hindi speaking person),” he said. was.