Madurai MP sends letter written in Hindi back to Centre

The MP said that communications to Tamil Nadu MPs should not be in Hindi

Accusing the PM Modi-led BJP government of imposing Sanskrit and Hindi on non-English speaking states, Madurai MP Su Venkatesan sent back a letter addressed to him to the Centre asking it "not to resort to such provocative measures in future."

In a letter Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel in English, Venkatesan wrote, "I was fortunate enough to know the number of the letter since it is in numeral. I could not understand what are the contents of the letter. The format enclosed in it is in English. From that, I could assume the letter is for asking MPs to make recommendations for 'Gandhi Peace Prize'."

The MP said that communications to Tamil Nadu ministers should not be in Hindi as it is a violation of the Official Language Implementation act.

He argued that when he had approached the High Court regarding this matter, the Centre had assured that any future communications would be in English. "I wish to point out here that your ministry officials have violated the law of this land and assurance by your government to the court which amounts to contempt," he wrote.

Adding that Tamil Nadu has a unique history of fighting attempts to impose Hindi, he said that he is ready to deal with it and would not let anyone weaken the resolve to uphold Tamil Nadu's identity and culture. "I doubt whether this kind of approach is deliberate on the part of the Government of India to implement their project of imposing Sanskrit and Hindi on the people of non-Hindi speaking states of India particularly, Tamil Nadu," Venkatesan wrote.

Ahead of the Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, the BJP and the Congress are engaged in a word of wars over the Tamil language. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently said during a public address that Tamil Nadu should show the way to India in keeping away the forces that are inimical to language and culture and those projecting "one culture, one nation and one history" concept.

Single-phase elections to 234 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu are scheduled on April 6.