Language Martyrs Day: Stalin Says No Place For Hindi
- Language Martyrs Day tributes recall anti Hindi agitation
- Language Martyrs Day remarks target Hindi imposition
DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday asserted that there was no place for Hindi in Tamil Nadu. He paid tributes to those remembered as the Language Martyrs of the state. He said they sacrificed their lives during past anti Hindi agitations. He made the remarks on the occasion of Language Martyrs Day and strongly reiterated the party’s long held stand on language policy.
Stalin hailed what he described as the courage of people who opposed Hindi imposition. He said Tamil Nadu had repeatedly protested whenever Hindi was imposed. In a social media post, he said, “a state that loved its language like its life, unitedly struggled against Hindi imposition; protested with the same intensity every time it was imposed.” He also stated, “Language Martyrs Day; there is no place for Hindi then, now and forever (in TN).” These remarks underlined the DMK’s firm opposition to the use of Hindi in the state.
On Language Martyrs Day, Stalin also shared a brief video. The video traced the history of the anti Hindi agitation. It focused on the period when the movement peaked in 1965. It included references to the martyrs and highlighted the role of late DMK leaders C N Annadurai and M Karunanidhi in the language struggle. Meanwhile, Stalin said Tamil Nadu’s resistance helped protect the rights and identity of different linguistic groups across the sub continent.
He further said, “I pay my grateful respects to those martyrs who gave their precious lives for Tamil. No more life will be lost in the language war; our love for Tamil will never die! We shall oppose Hindi imposition forever. #LanguageMartyrsDay #StopHindiImposition.” He used the statement to stress continued resistance to Hindi imposition.
Later, Stalin paid tributes at the memorial of Language Martyrs Thalamuthu and Natarasan. He also inaugurated their busts at the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority building in the city. Language Martyrs refers to those who lost their lives, mainly through self immolation, during the anti Hindi agitation across Tamil Nadu in 1964 and 1965.
Tamil Nadu continues to follow the two language formula of Tamil and English. However, the DMK has alleged Hindi imposition through the Centre’s National Education Policy 2020. Meanwhile, AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam leader Vijay also paid tributes. Palaniswami said, “Mother Tamil is equal to our life,” in a social media post.
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