Encourage Tamil but don’t insult Hindi, states must put nation first, said finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman at CNN-News18 Town Hall in Chennai on Monday over the “Hindi imposition” debate in the country, adding instigation in the name of language is unacceptable.
“It’s one thing to believe in an ideology but a totally different thing to deny individuals their right to learn what they want,” Sitharaman said at the event, adding that students learning Hindi should be treated equally.
When asked has there been any change since the time she witnessed violent protests against Hindi in the state during her college days, Sitharaman said it is “difficult to believe”. “Even today, I challenge, scholarships are not given if, incidentally, your second language is Sanskrit or Hindi. What right does the state have to say one of the Indian languages is not equal to Tamil.”
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Recently, the FM delivered a speech in Hindi at an event organised by the Hindi Vivek Magazine, and said speaking in Hindi gives her “shivers”.
The Tamil Nadu government in January had told the Madras High Court that there was no prohibition on learning Hindi in the state, though it follows the two-language (Tamil and English) policy so as not to overburden school students.
Governor RN Ravi had in May said the Centre was not imposing Hindi or any other language in Tamil Nadu. He said an impression is being created that the government is trying to “impose Hindi on Tamil Nadu. This is far from the truth”.
Chief minister MK Stalin has said last week that Indian languages, including Tamil, should be made official languages of the Union government and Indian Languages Day should be celebrated rather than the Hindi Diwas.
India is known for its integrity and there must not be any efforts aimed at dividing the country in the name of “Hindia,” Stalin said, an apparent hint to his party’s historical line against “imposing Hindi”.
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Source: News18