Tamil Nadu Assembly adopts resolution against Hindi imposition

Chennai, Oct 18: Stepping up pressure on the Centre, Tamil Nadu on Tuesday adopted a resolution in the Assembly against the imposition of Hindi and wrote to the Prime Minister stating that such a step would harm the nation's multi-lingual fabric.

"This House urges government not to implement recommendations made in Parliamentary Committee Report on Official Language given by Home Minister Amit Shah to President Draupadi Murumu, which is against State languages including Tamil and also against people's interest who speak those languages," Stalin said.

Staling staunchly opposed what he called a Parliamentary panel's "recommendation" that for specific jobs, aspirants should have learnt the Hindi language.

Writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Stalin said, "It has been reported that the Committee, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, submitted its report to the President of India, wherein inter-alia, has recommended that Hindi should be the compulsory medium of instruction in educational institutions of the Union government such as IITs, IIMs, AIIMS and central universities and Hindi should replace English."

It also includes a recommendation that Hindi shall be made as the medium of instruction in all technical, non-technical institutions and all the Union government institutions including Kendriya Vidyalayas.

The Chief Minister said that, "youth would be eligible for certain jobs only if they had studied Hindi and removal of English (is proposed) as one of the compulsory papers in recruitment exams." Such proposals went against the federal principles of the Constitution and would only harm the nation's multi-lingual fabric," he said.

"Efforts to "impose" Hindi in various ways as recommended in that report should not be taken forward and the "glorious flame of unity of India may be held high forever," the Chief Minister requested.
Stalin demanded that all languages should be accorded the status of the official language of the Union government," he wrote.

"All the regional languages, including Tamil, should be treated equally and that is the way to ensure the principle of unity in diversity. There are 22 languages including Tamil in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. All such languages have equal rights and there are several demands that some more languages should also be included in the schedule," Stalin further added.