Hindi imposition row: CM Stalin asks why Centre has not set up institution to teach Tamil in northern states

Chennai: Targeting the BJP-led Centre over the three-language formula, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday alleged that the “secret plan” of the BJP is to “destroy” Tamil and other languages and wondered why the Union government is hell bent on giving Hindi-Sanskrit names to train if it was serious about protecting all languages.

Stalin also sought to know why centres to learn Tamil were not established in North India much like Hindi Prachar Sabhas were opened across South India to facilitate people to learn Hindi.

“A century has passed since the Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha was set up to make South Indians learn Hindi. How many Uttar Bharat Tamil Prachar Sabhas have been established in North India in all these years?

Truth is, we never demanded that North Indians must learn Tamil or any South Indian language to ‘preserve’ them,” Stalin said.

In a letter to his cadres, the DMK chief said the BJP-ruled states were welcome to teach three or even 30 languages but spare Tamil Nadu from Hindi imposition. “Just leave Tamil Nadu alone,” he added.

Responding to criticism by BJP leaders that schools run by DMK functionaries teach Hindi and other languages, Stalin said only the Centre’s policy should be blamed for this and not the owners of the school.

“Hindi is not taught in private schools that follow the curriculum set by the Tamil Nadu State Board. Though BJP leaders were aware of this, their complaint that poor students have been denied the opportunity to learn Hindi is a political gimmick,” he said.

Maintaining that the DMK government’s education policy doesn’t impose any language, Stalin stressed the need for using technology to read languages rather than learning them in schools.