Stalin asks Centre not to ‘force language war by imposing Hindi’

Stalin was responding to a report presented to President of India Droupadi Murmu by the parliamentary committee on official language chaired by union home minister Amit Shah.

A day after starting his second tenure as DMK president, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Monday told the BJP led union government not to “force another language war by imposing Hindi”.

A day after starting his second tenure as DMK president, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Monday told the BJP led union government not to “force another language war by imposing Hindi”. (PTI)

Stalin was responding to a report presented to President of India Droupadi Murmu by the parliamentary committee on official language chaired by union home minister Amit Shah.

He cited media reports that the committee has recommended for Hindi to replace English as the medium of instruction in all central institutions like LI.Ts, LL.M., AIIMS, central universities and Kendriya Vidyalayas.

“To mandate a common language which is practically impossible is akin to stating that only Hindi speakers are the rightful citizens of India and speakers of other languages are second-class citizens. This is divisive in nature,” Stalin said.

“The BJP-led union government has been continuously attempting to impose Hindi with utter disregard to the constitution.” This is the second time Stalin has raised on this matter.

The chief minister issued a warning again to not take such a stance and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give up attempts to make Hindi mandatory and uphold the unity of India instead.

The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution has given 22 languages, including Tamil, equal rights.

“We should strive to make all languages as the official languages of the Union government,” Stalin said. “In such a scenario, where does the need arise for union home minister Amit Shah-led committee to recommend that Hindi be made the common language of India? Why is it recommended to discontinue English language question paper in the Union recruitment examinations to give preference for Hindi? It is against the spirit of the constitution to provide undue, unfair advantage to Hindi and discriminate against other Indian languages while raising “Bharat Mata ki Jai” as a political slogan in the parliament.”

Stalin also recalled the history of how the DMK has always fought against the imposition of Hindi and the 1965 agitations across Tamil Nadu.