DMK warns of 1965-like protest against Hindi; CM calls for unity

A day after Union home minister Amit Shah accused the Tamil Nadu government of not teaching professional courses in Tamil, the ruling DMK called it lies and warned that they will not hesitate to resist like the 1965 agitation against Hindi imposition.

- Divya Chandrababu

CHENNAI: Meanwhile, chief minister MK Stalin urged the other southern states to be united against threats of language imposition and the delimitation exercise based on population.

While wishing Telugu and Kannada speaking "Dravidian sisters and brothers" for Ugadi on Sunday, Stalin said at a post on X: "In the face of growing linguistic and political threats like Hindi Imposition and delimitation, the need for southern unity has never been greater. We must come together and defeat every attempt to undermine our rights and identity. May this Ugadi kindle the spirit of resistance and solidarity that binds us together."

This comes amid a tussle between the DMK-led government and BJP-led Union government over the two issues. The DMK since February has continued its opposition towards National Education Policy's three-language formula. It stated that the three-language policy was a way to impose Hindi in Tamil Nadu which has followed a two-language formula (English and Tamil) since 1968.

On March 22, Stalin hosted a meeting with three other CMs and political leaders of seven other states to pass a resolution urging the Centre to conduct a fair delimitation so that the states which have performed well economically and controlled their population are not penalised.