Anything for votes: DMK breaks its 'anti-Hindi' vow, puts up posters

Chennai, March 20: Remember the most talked-of Anti-

agitations in Tamil Nadu in 1937? Well, if you don't, don't bother because the one who initiated it is not.

's agitation against the language had drawn criticism from across the country, branding it as non-progressive many a times. But the very same party has broken its vow now....for votes.

Surprisingly, the Central Chennai constituency of Sowkarpet-which is dominated by Marwari families-spots posters by the DMK in Hindi. Inside sources say that the move is made to woo the strong 1.5 lakh Marwaris residing here. And fighting the election from this constituency is Dayanidhi Maran.

What are anti-Hindi agitations?

A major era in Tamil Nadu, the years post 1937 saw a series of agitations, riots and protests by the youth, led by Karunanidhi's DMK, against Hindi as the official language. The mandatory Hindi education was later withdrawn by the British Governor of Madras Lord Erskine in February 1940 after the resignation of the Congress Government in 1939.

The movement led to the deaths of many protestors and policemen and ultimately subsided after Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1965 gave assurances that English would continue to be used as the official language as long the non-Hindi speaking states wanted.

OneIndia News