hIndy down, down.”
“Don’t impose Hindi on Tamilians.”
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin recently wrote this in his long letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The 11th report of the Official Language Committee of Parliament headed by Home Minister Amit Shah was submitted to President Draupadi Murmu on 9 October. Report recommended That the medium of instruction in technical and non-technical higher education institutions in India such as IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) in Hindi speaking states should be Hindi and their respective local languages in other parts of India. Amit Shah also emphasized that local languages should be given preference over English in all states.
Why did the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) react so quickly? There are many internal reasons for this. The DMK is not fulfilling its promises and Tamil voters have developed a negative perception of Stalin’s failed administration. The most prominent is the politics of dynasty. Stalin himself said that he was find Discord between the leaders of his party caused “sleepless nights”. Re-elected as party president during DMK’s general council meeting On 9 October, Stalin has now chosen this platform to express his feelings. Instead of leveling a political charge against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Hindutva, he left another tangent. DMK allies were shocked; The leaders wondered – why such a “self-target speech”? Why takecome bail me out‘ place? Editorials and magazines of major dailies indicated that Stalin was losing his grip on the party and the government. That’s why the report of the Parliamentary Committee came in handy – without wasting even a minute, indicated The DMK’s 57-year-old slogan, “Down with Hindi”, was its war slogan in the 1965 anti-Hindi movement in Tamil Nadu.
Today, with the report of the Parliamentary Committee, the ‘anti-Hindi’ slogan of the DMK has gained further impetus. Interestingly, the Rajbhasha Samiti included all political parties including the DMK and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
history of acceptance
The Official Language Committee has to submit a report every five years. However, within the last three years, two reports have been submitted. It is at the discretion of the President of India to accept or reject a report.
The committee was constituted in 1976 under the Official Languages Act, 1963. It consists of 30 members of parliament – 20 from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. It reviews the progress made in the use of Hindi for official purposes and submits a report to the President making recommendations.
More interestingly, former Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who was also the chairman of the committee in 2011, also submitted a report with more stringent paragraphs to President Pranab Mukherjee that year, which was implemented without any resistance. Wasn’t DMK a part of the United Progressive Alliance and Chidambaram was Stalin’s best friend?
Presently, there are more than 12 volumes of Technical Dictionary of Hindi. In 2017 President Mukherjee also Accepted Recommendation of the committee for speeches by all the dignitaries to be delivered in Hindi only. The Modi government decided to compile a dictionary of translated English-to-Hindi words and exclude difficult language in official correspondence. It was suggested that words like demonetisation, VimudRiqrani (Legal Tender), Note captive – Popular colloquial words – can be accepted. Stalin also knows that the National Policy on Education has some inputs on equal use of Hindi in colleges.
On 16 October in Bhopal, Amit Shah released textbooks in Hindi for MBBS students as part of the project to provide medical education in the language of the Madhya Pradesh government. Tamil textbooks for MBBS students are also available in Tamil Nadu.
This is the era when cross-language communication is the key to breaking down barriers.
A Korean tourist in Mahabalipuram was able to transact in Tamil Nadu by ‘speaking’ Tamil with the help of Google Translate. There is such advancement in technology in the world.
Read also: KCR-Nitish, Kejriwal-Stalin- why North-South leaders are suddenly meeting each other
archaic beliefs should be removed
The DMK is still living in the 1965 era. “Hindi down, Hindi down” is redundant. Hindi as a political weapon has passed its expiry date. DMK ministers may tussle over this Water pancake The sellers in Tamil Nadu are North Indian. Also, there is a large diversity of youth from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha. Hindi has reached Tamil Nadu. There is now an element of North India in the social fabric of the state. It will not be surprising if, in 2031, Tamil Nadu has a Bihari or Uttarakhandi MLA or even a minister. North Indians have made their presence felt in the state – in the agriculture, textile, automobile, tourism and hospitality sectors. DMK should wake up to such realizations.
Stalin’s anti-Hindi movement can be linked to a key fact – the DMK wants to classify the BJP as a Hindi and North Indian party in Tamil Nadu. The DMK’s internal assessment is that the BJP has grown in Tamil Nadu and could be a threat to Stalin’s stronghold in 2024.
The author tweeted at @RAJAGOPALAN1951. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Likes)