'Not afraid': Udhayanidhi Stalin says Tamil Nadu won't accept 'Hindi imposition, NEP'

Stalin, the son of CM MK Stalin, claimed many north Indian native languages had been wiped out because of Hindi imposition.

Published on: Mar 2, 2025, 22:12:01 IST

By HT News Desk

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Tamil Nadu's deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said on Sunday that the state won't accept the centre's alleged bid to impose Hindi in the garb of the National Education Policy (NEP). He also claimed there would be another language war if the central government attempted Hindi imposition.

Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin addresses a gathering. (PTI file photo)

Stalin, the son of CM MK Stalin, claimed many north Indian native languages had been wiped out because of Hindi imposition.

"The centre is planning to impose Hindi on Tamil Nadu. In Haryana, Bihar, and UP states, their mother languages have been destroyed because of Hindi imposition. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan says if we only accept NEP, they will provide funds, but now they are ready to provide ₹5,000 crores to ₹6,000 crores to accept NEP and trying to impose Hindi on us. If you (the Centre) are trying to impose Hindi on Tamil Nadu, I am saying now clearly that Tamil Nadu will face another language war," he said.

Also read: BJP to skip Tamil Nadu's all-party meet on delimitation, Annamalai accuses MK Stalin of spreading ‘imaginary fear’

He also said that DMK government isn't afraid of the BJP-led central government.

"The CM said three things recently: we don't accept NEP, we won't accept delimitation, and we won't accept Hindi imposition. Today, the center is trying to impose the Hindi language sideways. The centre is directly trying to impose Hindi through the New Education Policy. Tamil Nadu will never accept the New Education Policy and Hindi imposition in any manner. We (DMK) are not afraid of the central government's threats because the current regime is DMK, not AIADMK," he added.

Dharmendra Pradhan's veiled attack on DMK

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, meanwhile, reiterated the importance of promoting Indian languages through the National Education Policy (NEP).

"National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 should give importance to Indian languages… All Indian languages have equal rights, and all should be taught in the same way. This is the objective of the NEPSome people in Tamil Nadu are opposing it for political purposes. We have not said anywhere in the NEP that only Hindi will be taught," he said.

With inputs from ANI

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