From streets to social media, #StopHindiImposition gets a DMK mega-push

Apart from sloganeering against the Central government over its alleged attempt to impose Hindi, the agitators also put up boards and banners reading “#StopHindiImposition” at the protest location. The hashtag trended on Twitter as well.

Speaking at the protest, Udhayanidhi Stalin reminded the Union government that the ruling party in Tamil Nadu was the DMK led by Chief Minister MK Stalin — his father — and not the BJP ally AIADMK, led by Edapaddi K Palaniswamy or O Panneerselvam.

DMK leaders at an anti-Hindi imposition protest in Chennai on Saturday, 15 October, 2022. (Supplied)

Importantly, he warned that the protests would not be confined to Tamil Nadu, and would even be taken to New Delhi if the Centre continued to attempt to impose Hindi across the country.

“One of the main principles of the DMK is opposing Hindi imposition. At no cost will we move away from that or give up on our ideology. Whichever route you take to sneak Hindi into Tamil Nadu, we just have one thing to say: ‘Hindi Theriyadhu, Poda’ (We don’t know Hindi. Go away). The people of Tamil Nadu will chase away the fascist BJP in the 2024 general elections, just like they did in 2019,” he said.

Recalling the recent protest in West Bengal against Hindi imposition, Udhayanidhi pointed out that portraits of DMK leaders such as CN Annadurai, M Karunanidhi, and MK Stalin were used by the protesting members.

The DMK’s protest over language rights came days after a parliamentary panel on official language, led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, reportedly pushed for Hindi in various fields, especially in education and Central government jobs.

In a report it submitted to President Droupadi Murmu, the panel is said to have recommended that Hindi be made the medium of instruction in all technical and non-technical educational institutions.

The bone of contention from the report, however, was the panel’s suggestion that compulsory English-language papers be replaced with Hindi papers in recruitment exams for Central government jobs.

The report further recommended that correspondence in Central government offices, ministries, or departments happen in Hindi, with even punitive measures being advised against officials who do not correspond in Hindi.

These recommendations by the panel sparked massive outrage, especially in non-Hindi-speaking states.

The panel’s recommendations came barely days after SSC recruitments for Combined Graduate Level Exam sparked outrage over only English and Hindi being the languages of exams. DMK Lok Sabha member Kanimozhi had expressed opposition to the Hindi bias in the central exams.

Various political parties from the southern states, including leaders like MK Stalin and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to JD(S) chief HD Kumaraswamy and TRS minister KT Rama Rao, slammed the BJP for trying to impose Hindi.

Union Govt’s #HindiImposition move is an onslaught on India’s cherished ideal, unity in diversity. It will disadvantage a vast majority of Indians in matters of education and employment. This callous move, an affront on cooperative federalism, has to be opposed unitedly.

— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) October 11, 2022

MK Stalin earlier this week warned the Centre not to force another language war on non-Hindi speaking states. All 22 languages in the 8th schedule of the Constitution are entitled to equal rights, he reminded the union government.