We have now completed 65 years of Independence. A cartoon which claims it depicts the Anti- Hindi agitation has shaken the whole country and the Tamil community world over.
It may well be that Hindi is spoken by over 40% of the Indians but that is not a good reason for a democratic government to impose the language in any form (directly or indirectly) in a region like Tamil Nadu which has existed thousands of years with Tamil as the language.
Had the Tamils not agitated in 1965 against the imposition of Hindi, India might have lost English today.
The problem with Tamils and Tamil Nadu is not with the language Hindi, but with its imposition. The myth of Hindi is the National language is still prevailing in many parts of the country. Today, Hindi imposition in Tamil Nadu continues in many forms.
I remember a time when I could see ‘Paasi paruppu’ written in English or Tamil. Today, I could see it as ‘Moong Daal’. What has Moong daal and Toor daal got to do in a place where it is not understood by over 98%?
If I were to go by the 2001 statistics, Hindi is spoken by around 0.30% of the people in Tamil Nadu. Perhaps the most disgusting and ridiculous factor is trying to satisfy the 0.30% of the population in the name of ‘National language’.
I remember seeing a notice board in TN airport which says ‘We feel happy when you speak Hindi. Think, speak and write in Rajbhasha Hindi’.
My question is the necessity to promote Hindi in TN when the Union Government has clearly specified in its department of official languages states “In exercise of the powers conferred by section 8, read with sub-section(4) of section 3 of the Official Languages Act, 1963 (19 of 1963), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules, namely
1. Short title, extent and commencement -
(i) These rules may be called the Official Languages (Use for Official Purposes of the Union) Rules, 1976.
(ii) They shall extend to the whole of India, except the State of Tamilnadu.
(iii) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
My concern is not just ignoring the passion and love of the Tamils for their mother tongue and their Tamil identity but also mocking at them.
India is a beautiful country with diverse ethnicity and cultures. In my opinion, it is not hard to accept them as they are. Promoting Hindi and other languages in a region where it shouldn’t be particularly in Tamil Nadu could have adverse consequences.
I wish to reiterate that India has no National language and Tamil is the only official language of Tamil Nadu.The imposition of Hindi in Tamil Nadu is already sorted as the rule clearly exempts Tamil Nadu.
It is up to the leaders of Tamil Nadu to ensure that the rule is fully implemented in the state. I welcome readers point of view. Please feel free to e-mail your comments to me in either Tamil or English.
Long live classical Divine Tamil!
- Raj Vignesh (United Kingdom)
email: vickey_24@yahoo.com
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