The central government would like to enforce the use of Hindi in colleges. But the local Legislative Assembly stands up in defense of Tamil: “Unfeasible and divisive attempts, unacceptable for any State that respects and values its mother tongue.”
Chennai () – The Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu has adopted a resolution against “the imposition of Hindi” decided by the Indian Union government. The document calls on the New Delhi government not to implement some recommendations of the Parliamentary Commission regarding the official language that were presented to President Droupadi Murmu on September 9.
The Commission, chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah, had expressed the hope that in institutions of higher learning, such as the Indian Institute of Technology, Hindi would be adopted as the main language along with English as an optional language. The resolution states that these recommendations are “contrary to the languages of each State, such as Tamil, and contrary to the interest of the people who speak those languages”.
Tamil Nadu has a dual language policy, passed in 1968 by the local Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party, which states that only Tamil and English should be taught in public institutions. At the time of the vote on the resolution, the deputies of the Bharatiya Janata Party – the party of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – left the premises.
Local government chief MK Stalin wrote to Modi a few days ago to say that the central government’s attempts to impose Hindi are unfeasible and divisive. “These recommendations – he goes on to say – are unacceptable not only for Tamil Nadu, but for any State that respects and values its mother tongue”. Stalin adds that all regional languages, including Tamil, should be treated equally in India and recognized as the official language of the Union government.
