The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Saturday responded to remarks by actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan regarding the ongoing language debate. The Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister had questioned Tamil Nadu politicians' stance on Hindi, asking why they opposed its imposition while allowing Tamil films to be dubbed into Hindi for commercial purposes.
DMK spokesperson Dr. Syed Hafeezullah countered Kalyan's statement, describing it as a "hollow understanding" of Tamil Nadu's stance on linguistic policies. He clarified that Tamil Nadu has never opposed individuals learning Hindi or any other language but stands against the imposition of Hindi or any language on its people.
Speaking at Jana Sena formation day, Pawan Kalyan raised concerns over what he perceived as a contradiction in Tamil Nadu's stance.
"Tamil Nadu continuously rejects Hindi, stating that they do not want it. However, a thought crossed my mind—if that is the case, then why do they dub Tamil films in Hindi? They seek money from Hindi-speaking states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh, and they rely on workers from Bihar. Yet, they claim to despise Hindi. How is this fair?" he said.
Reflecting on his own experiences, Kalyan shared that he had faced discrimination while studying in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, adding a personal dimension to his comments.
He asked, "Is India a piece of cake to be divided whenever someone gets angry? If anyone attempts to undermine the integrity of India, there are crores of people like me who will rise to protect it."
Adding to the response, senior DMK leader TKS Elangovan reiterated Tamil Nadu’s longstanding opposition to Hindi imposition, stating, "We have been opposing Hindi since 1938... We passed legislation in the state assembly that Tamil Nadu will always follow the two-language formula based on the advice and suggestions of education experts, not actors. The bill was passed way back in 1968, when Pawan Kalyan was not even born. He doesn’t know the politics of Tamil Nadu. This is not the first time we have opposed Hindi because we believe education in the mother tongue is the best way to train people."
Mr. Elangovan further alleged that Pawan Kalyan’s remarks were politically motivated, stating, "He wants to somehow support the BJP so that he can gain something out of the BJP government."
Reacting to Pawan Kalyan's remarks, DMK MP Kanimozhi hit back by resharing his earlier tweets criticising Hindi imposition.Kanimozhi added that technology has now allowed us to enjoy movies, beyond the barriers of language
Meanwhile, BJP leader Vikram Randhawa backed Pawan Kalyan’s remarks and asserted that Hindi is the national language, emphasizing the government's efforts to promote it across the country. He alleged that previous governments had attempted to suppress the culture of nationalism and insisted that the use of Hindi should be strongly implemented in southern India. Echoing Kalyan’s sentiment, he remarked, "People living in South India should think that they are earning crores of rupees from North India by dubbing movies in Hindi, but when it comes to speaking and teaching Hindi, they have problems."
Kalyan's remarks follow Tamil Nadu CM Stalin's comments on March 13, in which he labelled the NEP as a "saffronized policy" designed to promote Hindi rather than develop India. He alleged that the policy threatens to destroy Tamil Nadu's education system.
"National Education Policy is not education policy, it is saffronise policy. The policy was not created to develop India but to develop Hindi. We are opposing the Policy as that would destroy the Tamil Nadu education system completely," Stalin said in Tiruvallur.
Stalin further accused the central government of withholding funds to pressure the state into implementing the NEP.
"We are asking for your tax share, which we paid with our efforts. What is the problem with this? Is it fair to threaten without releasing funds for the welfare of 43 lakh schools? As we didn't accept NEP, they are refusing to release funds that belong to Tamil Nadu," he said.
"We would have welcomed the scheme if it brought everyone into education. But is NEP like that? NEP has all the factors that remove people from education. This is how this policy is, and that's why we are opposing it," he added.
(With inputs from ANI)