DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday paid tribute to the Language Martyrs who lost their lives during the anti-Hindi agitation in the state and firmly asserted that there is no place for Hindi in Tamil Nadu now or in the future.
Marking Language Martyrs Day, Stalin said Tamil Nadu is a state that loved its language like its life and repeatedly united to oppose Hindi imposition whenever it was attempted.
“A state that loved its language like its life stood together and fought against Hindi imposition with full strength every time it was forced,” Stalin said in a social media post.
Reiterating the DMK’s long-standing position, he said, “Language Martyrs Day. There was no place for Hindi then, there is no place now and there will be no place forever in Tamil Nadu.”
Stalin shared a short video recalling the history of the anti-Hindi agitation, especially the 1964 to 1965 movement, and highlighted the sacrifices of the martyrs along with the contributions of former DMK leaders C N Annadurai and M Karunanidhi.
He said that by leading the anti-Hindi agitation, Tamil Nadu had protected the rights and identity of several linguistic communities across the Indian subcontinent.
“I pay my heartfelt respects to the martyrs who sacrificed their precious lives for Tamil. No more lives should be lost in a language struggle. Our love for Tamil will never fade. We will oppose Hindi imposition forever,” Stalin said.
Language Martyrs refers to those who lost their lives, many through self-immolation, during the anti-Hindi protests that swept Tamil Nadu in the mid 1960s.
Even today, Tamil Nadu continues to follow the two-language policy of Tamil and English. The DMK has consistently accused the Centre of attempting to impose Hindi through policies such as the National Education Policy 2020.
