Tamil Nadu Congressional MP P Chidambaram Tweeted on Hindi Diwas Day (Archive)
New Delhi:
Congressional leader P Chidambaram tweeted today on the occasion of Hindi Diwas and said that he “rejoices (d) with the Hindi-speaking people” celebrating the language. He also included a mention of Tamil, which he called “one of the oldest languages of India.”
“Tamil-speaking people are rightfully proud” of their language, said the deputy of Rajya Sabha, a native of Tamil Nadu, in the first of two tweets.
Each of Chidambaram’s tweets was posted three times, in Tamil, English and Hindi, in a subtle blow to core policies that many in the south see seek to impose Hindi over regional languages.
“We rejoice with the Hindi-speaking people celebrating Hindi Diwas today. The Tamil-speaking people are rightfully proud that the Tamil language is among the oldest languages in India,” he said in his first tweet.
We also celebrate that the archaeological excavations being carried out in Keeladi and nearby areas have brought to the knowledge of the world the roots of a 2,600-year-old Tamil civilization.
– P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 14, 2020
Chidambaram’s second tweet noted that archaeological excavations in the Keeladi region of the state had unearthed evidence of a 2,600-year-old Tamil civilization.
The tweets come amid a dispute between the center and the state over the perceived imposition of Hindi, a dispute that erupted in June last year after the center published a draft of the National Education Policy.
Southern states, led by Tamil Nadu, lashed out at Hindi Diwas last year, particularly after Union Interior Minister Amit Shah said that since Hindi was “the most widely spoken and understood language” in India, he was the only one who could unite the nation.
DMK chief MK Stalin declared “this is India, not Hindia” and warned of the center of a “language war”.
Last month, DMK MP Kanimozhi rekindled that fire; He said a CISF officer at Chennai airport had asked “if ‘I am Indian’ when I asked him to speak to me in Tamil or English as I did not know Hindi.”
Chidambaram said he had experienced similar taunts and tweeted: “If the center is genuinely committed to making both Hindi and English the official languages of India, it should insist that all central government employees be bilingual in Hindi and English.” , the 74-year-old newspaper. wrote the former former Union minister.
If the central government is genuinely committed to making both Hindi and English the official languages of India, it must insist that all central government employees be bilingual in Hindi and English.
– P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) August 10, 2020
In September last year, Mr. Chidambaram, who at the time was housed in Delhi’s Tihar Prison in connection with the INX Media case, said that if the Tamil people spoke with one voice, their language and culture would be recognized. .
Ms Kanimozhi’s tweet in August also returned the spotlight to education policy. The final version, the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) published in July, said that one of the native languages or the local / regional language would be the medium of instruction through Class 5 in all schools.
Tamil Nadu has long opposed any move to give Hindi more prominence than other Indian languages. The region saw protests against Hindi between 1937 and 1940. In 1965, the problem flared up again and around 70 people were killed in the violence that followed.
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