Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin ups the ante on Hindi language row, 'If imposing is a must…'

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin invoked a poem by Bharathidasan as he escalated the ongoing friction between the state government and the Centre over the three-language education policy.

Stalin invoked Bharathidasan's poem as he referred to the simmering Tamil-Hindi row after Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin also referred to the imposition of Hindi a day before.

Stalin also warned the BJP-led Centre to respect the rights of the people of Tamil Nadu with a camouflaged  statement, hinting the southern state would oppose any language imposition. He peppered his X post with a quote from Bharatidasan poem referring to the imposition of a language.

"Tamils are people who value love and will never surrender for intimidating," ANI quoted Udayanidhi Stalin as saying on Tuesday. Udayabidhi Stalin said the imposition of Hindi would threaten survival of Tamil language, and cited its perceived impact on various North Indian languages, such as Rajasthani, Haryanvi, Bhojpuri, and Bihari.

DMK leaders protest against imposing a trilingual language policy in Tamil Nadu

DMK workers and leaders including Udhayanidhi Stalin protested against the Centre and demanded the release of funds to Tamil Nadu. The party leaders and volunteers held placards and raised slogans showing their opposition to the imposition of a trilingual language policy in the state. 

Tamil Nadu ministers, including Anbil Mahesh Poiyamozhi, Sekar Babu, and Ma. Subramanian, DMK MLAs and MPs such as Tamilachi Thangapandian and Kanimozhi Somu, also joined the protest.

Udhayanidhi Stalin attacked Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who earlier said that the Centre "would only provide funds if TN accepts the Trilingual Language policy."

"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 Tamil Nadu was neglected completely," ANI quoted Udhayanidhi Stalin on Wednesday.

Tamil Nadu alleges that the Centre resorted to "open blackmail" by snatching away ₹2,152 crore meant for the state and giving it to other states for refusing to accept the National Education Policy.

What is trilingual language policy?

The three-language policy is part of the National Education Policy 2020, which mentions the use of three languages in schools. Two must be Indian languages, and not English. The policy has been a long-standing flashpoint between southern states and the Centre as it mandates the Hindi language in schools.

Reacting to Dharmendra Pradhan's comments on Tamil Nadu's reluctance towards a trilingual language policy, Udhayanidhi Stalin said, "Several states that accepted Hindi stand to lose their mother tongues... Bhojpuri, Bihari, Haryanvi have nearly died because of infiltration by Hindi."