DMK MP Kanimozhi has come up with a reaction to Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding his recent comments on Hindi. She says that Tamil too is not an adversary of any language and said North Indians to learn one South Indian language at least. Her remarks came against the backdrop of ongoing tension over language policy and Hindi imposition discussions in Tamil Nadu.
After addressing a function on Saturday, Kanimozhi said, “If Hindi is not the enemy of any language, then Tamil too is not the enemy. Let North Indians learn Tamil. That is genuine national integration’
Kanimozhi’s rebuttal to Amit Shah?
Though she did not mention Amit Shah by name, her comments were obviously in rebuttal of the Home Minister’s recent remarks that Hindi is not against any Indian language and should be accepted as a friend of all of them. Shah also said that no language should be used to separate India, but rather be a unifying bridge.
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Kanimozhi MP, who is also a leading figure of the ruling DMK party in Tamil Nadu, stated that South Indian languages should be given as much respect and place in national life. “We are nobody’s enemy. We are friends to everybody. Learn our language too,” MP said.
Kanimozhi’s remarks and DMK’s stands
Kanimozhi’s remark highlights DMK’s long-standing opposition to what they sees as efforts by the central government to impose Hindi on non-Hindi-speaking states that too especially thorugh the National Education Policy. Tamil Nadu government has been in strong opposition to the NEP’s three-language formula, contending that it promotes Hindi surreptitiously at the cost of regional languages.
The Central government has also been charged by the state for punishing Tamil Nadu by depriving it of education-related funds for not adopting the policy.
Amit Shah, earlier this week, again pledged to support Indian languages and said that they can be used as a medium of unity. “There should be no resistance to any language in the country. Hindi is not an adversary, but a friend,” he had said.
