TIRUVANNAMALAI: The DMK president M K Stalin on Sunday accused the Centre of "autocratic imposition of Hindi" and underscored the need for unity in opposition ranks to take forward protest against the government on such issues.
Addressing an MDMK party event chaired by its leader Vaiko here, Stalin said Tamil was sidelined in the competitive examination conducted by the railways and postal department.
After Home Minister Amit Shah's pitch for Hindi as a common link language, the DMK chief had Saturday said that such a view was against national integrity and demanded that it be taken back.
"We have been compelled to go the protest mode everyday to get our rights;" he said and sarcastically added, "even if we snooze they (the Centre) will thrust Hindi and ease out Tamil if we went tired."
Addressing the MDMK's 111th birth anniversary celebrations of Dravidian ideologue C N Annadurai, he said since 1938, Tamil Nadu had been protesting against Hindi imposition and several such agitations continued through the years including those held in 1949 and 1953. Such protests culminated in a massive agitation in 1965 and "has not the situation come to a pass necessitating protests even now?" he asked.
"They are continuously imposing Hindi and we are opposing it all along," he said and alleged "thrusting of Hindi is being carried on in an autocratic fashion (by the Centre) despite such opposition."
Not only on the Hindi issue, but also on matters like National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test, Cauvery issue, projects on Methane, extraction of Hydrocarbon and Neutrino, Tamil Nadu was being betrayed, he claimed.
The Central and State governments were behind the betrayal on such issues, he alleged adding, "we have the democratic duty to stop it."
Protest voices were raised on such issues both inside and outside Parliament and State Assembly and agitations were held by mobilising people.
"We have to join hands and hold protests; and Annan (elder brother) Vaiko is the forerunner of the struggle," he said.
Stalin praised Vaiko as a fearless leader, determined to take forward the struggle on such issues against the government, be it inside or outside of Parliament.
After Shah's Hindi pitch, Tamil Nadu parties rallied against it.
In a series of tweets in Hindi, Home Minister Shah had on Saturday said, "India has many languages and every language has its importance. But it is absolutely necessary that the entire country should have one language that becomes India's identity internationally".
Later, addressing a DMK meet at Tiruvannamalai, Stalin said his party will not be a mute spectator to any effort aimed at imposing Hindi.
"We will resolutely take up steps to thwart such attempts. We are prepared to do any sacrifice for it," he said.
Also, he said the anti-Hindi initiatives will not end within Tamil Nadu, but it will be a pivot that unified agitations of all the non-Hindi speaking states.
Rather than being political, the opposition to Hindi was cultural and linguistic in character, he said and appealed to all sections of society including theists and scholars to join hands and reprise "the sense of unity," seen in 1938.