Won't oppose Hindi if it is not imposed, says TN CM Stalin

DMK will not oppose Hindi if it is not "imposed" on Tamil Nadu, chief minister MK Stalin said on Wednesday. He said forcing the language on Tamils was tantamount to playing with their self-respect, stoking the linguistic debate further.

The CM said the state was against BJP's efforts to "impose Hindi, and then Sanskrit", in the name of the three-language formula. He went a step further and said the state's two-language policy (Tamil and English) had resulted in the state doing well in school education, higher education, skill development and creation of employment opportunities. He said BJP was "betraying" the southern state and said he would leave no stone unturned to protect the language and the people.

"For those asking why DMK still opposes Hindi, my humble response to them as one among you is - because you still impose it on us," he said in a letter posted on X to the party cadre. "We won't oppose if you don't impose; won't blacken Hindi words in Tamil Nadu. Self-respect is Tamils' unique characteristic and we will not allow anyone, whoever it is, to play with it."


DMK is alleging that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre is trying to impose Hindi through the three-language formula in the National Education Policy, a charge denied by the Union government.

Hitting back at the BJP leaders who claimed that the blackening of Hindi names in railway stations would affect north Indian passengers arriving in the state, Stalin said they should have had such concern for Tamil too. He also questioned whether announcements were made in other Indian languages.