Tamil Nadu’s Language Wars rage on in right earnest as M.K. Stalin spearheads the state’s age-old resistance to Hindi imposition, exposing increasing fault lines between Centre and State.
Few issues in Tamil Nadu evoke as much passion as the spectre of Hindi imposition. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s recent remarks warning of a renewed “language war” have reignited a decades-old conflict between Tamil linguistic pride and the Centre’s attempts at national integration through Hindi. The DMK, which has long positioned itself as the guardian of Tamil identity, sees the BJP-led central government’s three-language policy as an existential threat to the state’s linguistic autonomy.
Tamil Nadu’s opposition to Hindi dates back to the pre-Independence era. When the Congress government under C. Rajagopalachari attempted to introduce Hindi as a compulsory subject in schools between 1937 and 1939, it provoked mass protests led by the Justice Party and social reformers like E.V. Ramasamy ‘Periyar’. The protests, brought on by the fear that Tamil would be relegated to a secondary status, were among the first large-scale agitations in modern Indian history based on language.
The conflict resurfaced in 1965 when the Union government sought to implement Hindi as India’s sole official language, triggering violent student protests across Tamil Nadu. The agitation, spearheaded by the DMK, led to the deaths of several protesters and ultimately forced the Centre to back down. In response, the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri assured that English would continue as a link language alongside Hindi. This victory was pivotal for the DMK, which rode the wave of anti-Hindi sentiment to power in 1967. Since then, successive Tamil Nadu governments regardless of party affiliation have adhered to a strict two-language formula of Tamil and English, rejecting any attempts to include Hindi in the state’s curriculum.
The current controversy stems from the National Education Policy (NEP), which advocates a three-language formula, with Hindi being the preferred third language in non-Hindi-speaking states. The BJP has consistently argued that Hindi is essential for national cohesion and economic mobility, a stance that finds little sympathy in Tamil Nadu. Stalin’s latest salvo, asserting that the state will not tolerate Hindi imposition, reaffirms the DMK’s historic position.
The Tamil Nadu BJP chief, K. Annamalai, has countered these claims, accusing the DMK of hypocrisy. He points out that while private schools in the state allow students to learn Hindi and other languages, government schools restrict them to Tamil and English, creating a disparity between the elite and the working class. Yet, the BJP’s arguments fail to address a fundamental truth that Tamil Nadu’s economic success, particularly in higher education and employment, has been achieved without Hindi.
Beyond linguistic concerns, the battle over Hindi is deeply political. The DMK has always used language as a rallying point to consolidate its voter base, portraying itself as the defender of Tamil culture against ‘northern imposition.’
The BJP, meanwhile, views Tamil Nadu as a critical frontier in its southern expansion. By positioning itself as a champion of Hindi and a party committed to a pan-Indian linguistic identity, it hopes to erode the DMK’s influence. However, past attempts have backfired. In 2019, the Union government’s decision to make Hindi mandatory in all central government exams was met with intense resistance, forcing a quick rollback.
Compounding Tamil Nadu’s grievances is the looming delimitation exercise, which could see the state lose up to eight Lok Sabha seats due to its success in population control. Stalin has argued that this would further diminish Tamil Nadu’s voice in national affairs, affecting its ability to resist policies such as the NEP and central fund allocations. The DMK sees this as another example of Tamil Nadu being punished for its progressive policies, reinforcing the narrative that the Centre is indifferent to the state’s interests.
Stalin’s defiance signals that the DMK is ready to fight, and if past struggles are any indication, the people of Tamil Nadu will stand firmly behind him.
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