Tamil Nadu’s resistance to Hindi language implementation has escalated into a major political confrontation, with Chief Minister MK Stalin warning the Centre of a potential “language war” if it continues to push for its trilingual policy implementation.
The dispute intensified on Wednesday as both Stalin and his son, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, took strong stands against what they term as “Hindi imposition” through the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
“States that accept Hindi lose their mother tongue,” CM Stalin declared on social media, sharing a poem by Pavendar Bharathidasan that criticizes Hindi implementation. The statement comes amid growing tension between the state government and the Centre over the three-language education policy.
Udhayanidhi Stalin, leading a protest in Chennai, presented a stark warning about the impact of Hindi implementation. “Hindi destroyed the local languages of states in the north such as Rajasthan, Haryanvi, Bhojpuri and other Bihari languages and has become the primary local language. The same will happen if Hindi is implemented in Tamil Nadu too,” he stated.
The protest saw participation from several DMK ministers and MPs, including Anbil Mahesh Poiyamozhi, Sekar Babu, and Ma. Subramanian, demonstrating united opposition to the Centre’s language policy.
The controversy gained momentum following Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s statement that central funds would only be provided if Tamil Nadu accepts the Trilingual Language policy. This policy, part of NEP 2020, requires schools to teach three languages, with two being Indian languages.
Defending Tamil Nadu’s stance, Udhayanidhi highlighted that “nearly 99 percent of Tamils working in prestigious organisations like ISRO or abroad were from government schools who did not study Hindi.”
The DMK leadership has accused the Centre of neglecting Tamil Nadu in the 2025 Union Budget, claiming preferential treatment for states like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat in fund allocation.
The language dispute reflects a longstanding conflict between Tamil Nadu and the central government over language policy, with the state maintaining its commitment to the two-language formula of Tamil and English.
