The t-shirts against Hindi imposition were all the rage on Sunday evening with actors and politicians sharing photographs wearing them.
“Hindi theriyathu, poda!” (I don’t know Hindi, go man!). “I am a Tamizh Pesum Indian” (I am a Tamil speaking Indian). “I am Indian, I don’t speak Hindi”
A photograph of popular music director Yuvan Shankar Raja in conversation with actor Shirish Saravanan who made his debut in the Tamil film Metro (2016) went viral on Twitter on Sunday. This photo was shared a few days ago, on September 5 by actor Shirish with the caption, “Deep in discussion , good things coming our way”.
The reason this photo went viral on Sunday was because of the T-shirts the two were seen wearing. While Yuvan sported a white T-shirt with a modern sketch of Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar accompanied by the words, “I am a Tamizh Pesum Indian”, Shirish was seen in a red T-shirt that proclaimed “Hindi theriyathu, poda!”
Interestingly, “I am Tamil speaking Indian” was first uttered by actor Kamal Haasan in the 1980 drama Varumayin Niram Sivappu by director K Balachander. Kamal’s character who goes for an interview is asked if he’s a Tamilian to which he replies with the now famous dialogue.
Deep in discussion , good things coming our way … ! @thisisysr pic.twitter.com/VSgaNQQNvw
— (@actor_shirish) September 5, 2020
Not long afterward, the T-shirts sparked a new wave of anti-Hindi imposition sentiment among Tamil speaking Twitter populace. Several took to social media sharing photographs of themselves wearing similar T-shirts.
Back to தொழில் …. something interesting on the work front #KeepCalm #SpreadLove @KikiVijay #WithLoveShanthnuKiki pic.twitter.com/vg9Vx6Hy4S
— Shanthnu ஷாந்தனு Buddy (@imKBRshanthnu) September 5, 2020
Congrats Dears#HindiTheriyathuPoda pic.twitter.com/2Ku0YrH3gB
— M Soundararaj (@MSoundararaj3) September 6, 2020
A source close to Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi said that the DMK leader started the initiative in a small way and printed a few T-shirts. However, the trend has caught on. Kanimozhi had on Sunday tweeted a picture of herself with a group of youngsters wearing the T-shirts. “A spark is enough to ignite a sentiment.When we printed Tshirts, in the era of blatant Hindi imposition,we didn’t know that the youngsters would respond passionately like our forefathers in fighting discriminatory practices. Thank you,” she said.
DMK Youth Wing Secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin to actors from the Tamil film industry like Aishwarya Rajesh, Shanthnu Bhagyaraj and his wife Keerthi Shanthnu also wore T-shirts bearing Tamil slogans were all the rage on Sunday evening. #HindiTheriyadhuPoda in Tamil font has been trending on Twitter since.
சாமானியர்களுக்கு மருத்துவம்பார்க்க சாமானியர்களையே மருத்துவராக்கியது கழக அரசு. ஆனால் நோயாளிக்கு முட்டை வாங்குவதுமுதல் மருத்துவருக்கான PPE Kitவரை கொள்ளையடிக்கும் அடிமைகள் துரோகத்தை இவ்வார ஞாயிறு கருத்தரங்கில் தோலுரித்த @Dr_Ezhilan @DrSenthil_MDRD @Manosoundar2 @GowriG_DMKக்கு நன்றி pic.twitter.com/kKuIu9uxdf
— Udhay (@Udhaystalin) September 6, 2020
A spark is enough to ignite a sentiment.When we printed Tshirts, in the era of blatant Hindi imposition,we didn’t know that the youngsters would respond passionately like our forefathers in fighting discriminatory practices. Thank you.#ஹிந்தி_தெரியாது_போடா #StopHindiImposition pic.twitter.com/44HHjXuS3d
— Kanimozhi (கனிமொழி) (@KanimozhiDMK) September 6, 2020
Garment manufacturers from Tiruppur, that is famous for its T-shirts, have been cashing in on this trend.
To place orders, contact
Mr. Karthikeyan
Ph. 9940931432.
M/s.Cool Cotton, Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu#இந்தி_தெரியாது_போடா@kombutwitz1 @myheartDMK1949 pic.twitter.com/edOc2Ur6BD— ɱᴜᴋɪʟ (@ComradeMukil) September 6, 2020
Notably, just a few days ago, filmmaker Vetrimaaran had shared an incident that had taken place in 2011 where he was humiliated for not knowing Hindi at an airport in India. In a recent interview with Vikatan, the national award winning filmmaker had said that the incident took place when he had just returned along with Aadukalam team after having screened the film at a Montreal film festival.
When Vetrimaaran admitted to an immigration official at Delhi airport that he did not know Hindi, he was ridiculed for it by the latter. The official had asked how he did not know the “country’s mother tongue” and exclaimed that “Tamilians and Kashmiris were breaking the country.” The filmmaker who made his debut with Polladhavan was made to wait for 45 minutes inspite of sharing his identity. In the interview, Vetrimaaran asked, “How can speaking my mother tongue disrupt the unity of the nation? How my mother tongue will hinder the development of the country.”
This incident is not very different from what MP Kanimozhi had to undergo a few weeks ago. The Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu was asked by a CISF officer at the airport if she was Indian for asking to be spoken to in Tamil or English. Kanimozhi had tweeted about the incident following which many from southern states including politicians like P Chidambaram and HD Kumaraswamy narrated similar incidents of being taunted by government officers for not knowing Hindi.
Source: The News Minute