CHENNAI — Tamil
Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has intensified his attack on the Centre over
the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the three-language language
policy, saying the imposition of anything breeds enmity, which in turn
threatens unity.
On
Thursday, CM Stalin used a well-known quote to criticise the Centre’s stance,
stating, “When you are accustomed to privilege, equality feels like
oppression.”
In
a post on social media platform X, he remarked, “This quote reminded me of how
some ‘entitled bigots’ brand Tamil Nadu’s demand for linguistic equality as
chauvinistic and anti-national.”
He
accused the BJP leaders of questioning the patriotism of the DMK government
despite its significant contributions to national causes.
CM
Stalin pointed out that the DMK had provided the highest amount of funds during
the Chinese aggression, the Bangladesh Liberation War, and the Kargil War. He
contrasted this with the BJP’s ideological roots, stating, “The very people who
glorify Godse’s ideology have the audacity to question the patriotism of the
DMK and its government, while their ideological forefather is the one who
assassinated ‘Bapu’ Gandhi.”
CM
Stalin’s remarks come amid the ongoing debate over the three-language policy
introduced in NEP 2020. Reaffirming his opposition, he stated that demanding
linguistic equality should not be seen as chauvinism.
“Chauvinism
is naming the three criminal laws that govern 140 crore citizens in a language
that Tamils cannot even pronounce or comprehend by reading,” he said.
“Chauvinism
is treating the state that contributes the most to the nation as second-class
citizens and denying its fair share for refusing to swallow the poison called
NEP.”
As
both Tamil Nadu CM and DMK president, Stalin argued that forcing any language
upon people fosters division and weakens national unity.
He
further accused “Hindi zealots” of treating their language privilege as natural
while branding Tamil Nadu’s resistance as treason.
"Imposition
of anything breeds enmity. Enmity threatens unity. Hence, the true chauvinists
and anti-nationals are the Hindi zealots who believe their entitlement is
natural but our resistance is treason," wrote CM Stalin on his X handle.
On
Wednesday, CM Stalin also questioned the BJP’s claim that Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has a deep love for Tamil, arguing that such sentiments are not
reflected in action.
“If
the BJP’s claim that our Hon’ble PM has great love for Tamil is true, why is it
never reflected in action?” he asked in a social media post.
He
urged the Union government to take tangible steps rather than symbolic gestures
like installing the Sengol in Parliament. He wrote, “Rather than installing
Sengol in Parliament, uninstall Hindi from Union government offices in Tamil
Nadu. Instead of hollow praise, make Tamil an official language on par with
Hindi and allocate more funds for Tamil than for a dead language like
Sanskrit.”
CM
Stalin also highlighted disparities in the allocation of funds for language
development. He noted that despite being spoken by eight crore people, Tamil
receives only Rs 74 crore from the Union government, whereas Sanskrit, spoken
by only a few thousand, gets Rs 1,488 crore.
On
March 2, CM Stalin expressed support for a protest by the Tamil diaspora in the
US against the Union government’s three-language policy. He shared a news
report and video of the protest in solidarity with the demonstrators. The
protest took place in Dallas, where a group of Tamils voiced their opposition
to NEP 2020, particularly its push for a three-language system that includes
Hindi. The protesters accused the BJP-led Centre of attempting to impose Hindi
on Tamil Nadu, thereby undermining the state’s long-standing two-language
policy.
