CHENNAI: Hindi will destroy Tamil like it did many north Indian languages, deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said on Tuesday.
The INDIA bloc parties came together to protest against BJP govt at the Centre for “repeatedly encroaching upon state’s rights” on various issues such as denying allocation of funds in Union Budget and for not releasing educational funds for TN.
At the protest, Udhayanidhi said, “Hindi destroyed the local languages of states in the north such as Rajasthani, Haryanvi, Bhojpuri, and other Bihari languages and has become the primary local language. The same will happen if Hindi is implemented in Tamil Nadu too. Almost 99% of Tamils who are now working abroad and in prestigious organisations such as Isro were from govt schools who did not study Hindi.”
Udhayanidhi said in the last 100 years, major protests in TN were for two reasons, one for education and the other for Hindi imposition.
“Martyrs such as Thalamuthu, Natarajan, and Keezhapalur Chinnasamy lost their lives not for politics, but for Tamil. Thousands are ready to lose lives for our language,” he said.
He said if funds are continued to be denied to the state, the protest will further intensify and will turn into a state-wide protest.
“Go back Modi protests will turn into ‘Get out Modi’ protests. You (BJP govt) cannot continue to threaten us. This is Periyar’s land, Anna’s land, Kalaignar’s land, and ‘a self-respect land’ governed by our chief minister M K Stalin,” Udhayanidhi said.
Participating in the protest, VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan said the intention of BJP govt behind imposing Hindi is to implement their policy of ‘One Nation, One Language’ and to make Hindi the national language.
Dravidar Kazhagam president K Veeramani, DMK treasurer T R Baalu, TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai, MDMK leader Vaiko, CPM state secretary P Shanmugam, CPI state secretary R Mutharasan, Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi founder T Velmurugan, and KMDK president E R Eswaran participated in the protest.