Students should be on guard against attempts to impose Hindi on Tamil Nadu: Udhayanidhi

Tamil Nadu Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin warns students against attempts to push Hindi into the state.

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sunday urged the student community to remain vigilant against attempts to “push Hindi into Tamil Nadu”.

Recalling the participation of students in the anti-Hindi agitation in 1965, he contended that it was the student community that prevented the imposition of Hindi on Tamil Nadu.

“Tamil is the base for Tamil Nadu. They are attempting to create threats to Tamil in various ways. They are bringing in the three-language policy. They introduced NEET. They are coming up with various ways to push Hindi into Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Udhayanidhi said, while addressing students at Government Arts College in Nandanam in Chennai.

Though many may present arguments that might sound true, the students should be wary of such attempts, he said. “The sense of being a Tamil is strong in Tamil Nadu only because the students rose up during the anti-Hindi agitation in 1965. It was the student protests that prevented the imposition of Hindi on Tamil Nadu. It was the protest by your seniors that protected the Tamil language and culture,” Mr. Udhayanidhi said.

Leaders such as social reformer Periyar E.V. Ramasamy and former Chief Ministers C.N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi would not have liked to see students involving themselves in protests since it would affect their studies, Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin said, adding, “But today, the Union government is creating challenges in the form of NEET, three-language policy and National Education Policy that pose a danger to education itself.”

Calling upon the students to understand the ‘conspiracy’, he said, “If you understand this properly, our enemies will never win.”

Earlier in the day, Mr. Udhayanidhi inaugurated the 1,000-seat Kalaignar Auditorium, built at a cost of ₹4.80 crore, on the campus. Ministers Ma. Subramanian and Govi. Chezhiaan; legislators Thayagam Kavi, S. Aravind Ramesh, A.M.V. Prabhakara Raja and K. Ganapathy; and senior officials were present.