Is it India or 'Hindia’, asks DMK's Stalin

Tamil Nadu, one of the few states that is perennially opposed to the imposition of Hindi, did not take lightly the comments by Home Minister Amit Shah on use of Hindi to “integrate” the nation, with leaders from the entire political spectrum strongly condemning the statement.

Leading the list of those opposing Shah's statement was DMK president M K Stalin, who reminded the Home Minister that the country is still “India and not Hindia.”

The ruling AIADMK, which is an alliance partner of the NDA, also jumped onto the bandwagon by subtly reminding its senior ally that it always stood by the “two-language formula” (Tamil and English) propagated and implemented by the late C N Annadurai, one of the founders of the DMK.

Twitter was abuzz on the issue, with hundreds of users from Tamil Nadu retweeting Shah’s statement in Hindi with a comment in their mother tongue, Tamil. This is seen as a protest against “imposition of Hindi” on people in Tamil Nadu, who have always been averse to a third language being “forced on them.”

In the only reaction from the AIADMK, School Education Minister K A Sengottaiyan said the government was firm on its “two-language formula” and has apprised the state’s position to Shah and Modi on earlier occasions. Another BJP ally, PMK, also condemned the Home Minister’s statement saying Hindi should not be imposed on those speaking other languages.

Tamil Nadu has been at the forefront of opposing the imposition of Hindi since the 1960s and had led vociferous protests on the issue for years together in the state. It backed off only after the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru had promised to continue with English as a “link language.” in 1962. It is the DMK’s steadfast opposition to Hindi that catapulted the party to St. Fort George, the seat of Tamil Nadu government, by defeating the Congress in 1967.