DMK responded to remarks made by actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan over the ongoing language debate today. The Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister accused Tamil Nadu politicians of hypocrisy, questioning why they opposed Hindi imposition while allowing Tamil films to be dubbed into Hindi for commercial benefits. DMK spokesperson Dr Syed Hafeezullah dismissed Mr Kalyan’s argument, calling it a “hollow understanding” of Tamil Nadu’s stance on linguistic policies. Tamil Nadu has never opposed individuals learning Hindi or any other language. What we oppose is the imposition of Hindi or any language on the people of our state.
The rebuttal comes amid debate on the National Education Policy (NEP) and the Centre’s push for Hindi, which Tamil Nadu has historically resisted. Mr Kalyan, founder of the Janasena Party, a key NDA ally and a supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took aim at Tamil Nadu politicians for their resistance to Hindi. Mr Kalyan asked I do not understand why some criticise Sanskrit. Why do Tamil Nadu politicians oppose Hindi while allowing their movies to be dubbed in Hindi for financial gain? They want labour from Bihar but are opposing hindi. What kind of logic is that?
Mr Hafeezullah said The DMK responded by saying that Tamil Nadu already has Hindi Prachar Sabhas that voluntarily teach Hindi to those interested. “If people want to learn Hindi, they are welcome to do so. The issue arises when the Central government mandates Hindi learning through policies like the NEP or PM SHRI schools,” The DMK responded by saying that Tamil Nadu already has Hindi Prachar Sabhas that voluntarily teach Hindi to those interested. If people want to learn Hindi, they are welcome to do so. The issue arises when the Central government mandates Hindi learning through policies like the NEP or PM SHRI schools.
Senior DMK leader TKS Elangovan echoed Mr Hafeezullah’s statement and added that this has always been Tamil nadu’s position on the language issue. Mr Elangovan said We have been opposing Hindi since 1938. We had passed legislation in the state assembly that Tamil Nadu will always follow the two-language formula because of the advice and suggestions of the experts in education, not actors. The bill was passed way back in 1968 when Pawan Kalyan was not even born.
Actor-politician Prakash Raj also joined the criticism. Taking to his social media account, he said: “Someone please tell Pawan Kalyan that asking you not to impose your language on us is not hatred for the language but it is to protect our language, our mother, and self-respect.”