Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin strongly criticized the use of Hindi language on the website of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in Tamil Nadu, saying the portal “has been reduced to a propaganda tool to impose Hindi.” In a post on social media platform Is!”
He said that the use of Hindi has been culturally imposed. MK Stalin said, “This is nothing but forced imposition of culture and language and crushing the diversity of India. LIC grew with the patronage of all Indians. How dare you betray most of its contributors?”
The LIC website has been reduced to a propaganda tool for Hindi imposition. Even the option to select English is displayed in Hindi!
This is nothing but cultural and language imposition by force, trampling on India’s diversity. LIC grew with the patronage of all Indians. How… pic.twitter.com/BxHzj28aaX
— MKStalin (@mkstalin) November 19, 2024
Adding the hashtag ‘Stop imposing Hindi’ in the post, he said, “We demand immediate withdrawal of this linguistic atrocities.”
Why do southern states oppose Hindi?
Opposition to Hindi in South India is mainly related to the cultural and linguistic identity there. Languages like Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu are very important for the local people. To preserve these languages, South Indian states see Hindi as an attack on their culture. They believe that if Hindi is made mandatory, it may marginalize their languages, which will threaten their cultural identity.
What is the importance of language from political point of view?
Even from the political point of view, opposition to Hindi is a historical aspect. The anti-Hindi movement began in Tamil Nadu in the 1940s, when the central government tried to make Hindi a compulsory subject. From then till now, South Indian states have been in favor of giving priority to their language. This protest is also related to politics, where state governments consider the imposition of Hindi as an encroachment on their rights.
Moreover, the attempt to introduce Hindi as a national language is uncomfortable for the South Indian states. In these states, considering Hindi as a powerful language and its essentiality is not accepted, because there is a fear of reducing the importance of their mother tongues.
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