Not against Hindi, but oppose its imposition: M K Stalin

CHENNAI: When C N Annadurai came to power in 1967, it was as a result of the language agitation that the state was named Tamil Nadu and the two-language formula was adopted, said chief minister M K Stalin, at an event commemorating the sacrifices of language martyrs of the anti-Hindi agitations.

“We are trying to amend laws in order to consider state languages as national languages. We are Tamil-speaking people, but that doesn’t mean that we are narrow-minded. We are not against Hindi or any other language in particular. What we oppose is Hindi being imposed upon us”, said Stalin.

“Our favour towards Tamil does not mean hatred for other languages. Learning a language is an individual’s prerogative; one should not thrust it upon others. Those who think of thrusting Hindi view it as a tool to dominate. Those who desire one religion for the country are the ones who want one language as well”, he said.