Bengaluru:
Senior DMK leader Kanimozhi clarified her party’s stance on the contentious three-language policy today, emphasizing that their objection is to the “imposition” of Hindi by the central government, not the language itself.
In an exclusive interview with NDTV, when asked if Tamil and Hindi cannot coexist, Ms. Kanimozhi responded, “Definitely, languages can coexist.”
She pointed out that Tamil Nadu is home to people from different parts of the country, speaking various languages. “Coexisting is not a problem; imposition is the problem,” she added. “We do not want to protect Tamil at the cost of any other language. Protecting Tamil is not about protecting an ideology.”
Quoting Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, she said, “The way to destroy a race is to destroy its language.” She further explained, “Today, I can show you so many states that have lost their art, culture, language, and films. Hindi has replaced their literature, films, and music. Why would I want that to happen to any other language?”
She also highlighted the deepening north-south divide due to the non-observance of one of the conditions when the education policy was formulated. “When the rules were framed, it was clear that states in the north would learn one southern language, and southern states would learn one north Indian language. Today, Kerala and Karnataka learn Hindi. Show me one north Indian state that has learned any South Indian language,” she said.
Ms. Kanimozhi also dismissed the notion that the three-language principle is inherently better. “It is a myth that learning three languages is something great and only affluent children can do so. English is there to communicate with the world and other states. You have to learn your mother tongue to understand who you are,” she stated.
She added that if there is a need, one can learn any language, including Mandarin or Japanese.
Historically, Tamil Nadu has followed a ‘two-language’ policy, teaching Tamil and English in government schools. The state has witnessed massive anti-Hindi agitations in the 1930s and 1960s.
As the BJP intensifies its push for the three-language education policy, planning a statewide campaign from March 1, the DMK has declared its readiness for a “language war.” Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has stated that Tamil Nadu would not receive approximately Rs 2,400 crore in funds for the Samagra Siksha mission unless it fully adopts the National Education Policy. Chief Minister MK Stalin has called this “blackmail.”
Amid the controversy, Union Minister Amit Shah, during his visit to Tamil Nadu today, apologized for not being able to speak Tamil, calling it “the world’s oldest language.”
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