CHENNAI: Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin, in the latest of his letter series in party organ Murasoli, stated that Hindi has swallowed native languages spoken in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and other northern states.
He listed that languages such as Bhojpuri, Maithili, Awadhi, Braj, Bundeli, Garhwali, Kumaoni, Magahi, Marwari, Malvi, Chhattisgarhi, Santhali, Angika, Ho, Kharia, Khortha, Kurmali, Kurukh and Mundari are now gasping for survival. He also said that UP and Bihar were never just Hindi heartlands.
“In Bihar, the native people are now attempting to revive Maithili, their language. Bhojpuri and Awadhi are also being revived. Indigenous languages of many northern states including Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Rajasthan became extinct leading to the loss of their culture, literature,” he elaborated.
“The dominant languages of Hindi and Sanskrit have ruined about 25 languages in the northern states. Due to the efforts and struggles of the Dravidian movement, Tamil remains protected. The union government now wants to spoil this too and that is why Tamil Nadu is opposing it,” he wrote.
Responding to a social media post in this regard by Stalin, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “Poor governance will never be hidden by such shallow attempts to divide society.” He further asked if Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, an ally of DMK, agreed with CM Stalin’s views.