Vijay slams BJP-DMK social media war on language row

Actor-turned-politician Vijay on Wednesday criticised the BJP and the DMK for waging a "hashtag war" on social media platforms over the ongoing language row.

- KA Shaji

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Wednesday said that the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) will not oppose Hindi if it is not imposed on Tamil Nadu and that forcing the language on the state's residents amounts to playing with their self-respect.

"For those asking why DMK still opposes Hindi, my humble response to them as one among you is because you still impose it on us," he said in a letter to DMK workers. "We won't oppose if you don't impose; won't blacken Hindi words in Tamil Nadu. Self-respect is Tamils' unique characteristic and we will not allow anyone, whoever it is, to play with it."

Stalin's comments on Wednesday came amid his bitter verbal war with Union education minister over the National Education Policy (NEP), which the former views as a tool to impose Hindi on the southern state a charge rejected by the latter. Language has long been an emotive issue for the state that was rocked by anti-Hindi agitation in the 1960s.

In the letter, the DMK chief recalled the anti-Hindi agitations in the state from 1937 to 1939, mentioning prominent leaders, including EV Ramasamy "Periyar," who participated in these protests. He also talked about concerns raised by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders over blackening of Hindi names on railway station boards in the state.