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Udhayanidhi Stalin vows Tamil Nadu will oppose Hindi imposition and NEP, honoring Veera Vanakkam Day.
Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin (File pic)
Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said on Monday that the state would firmly oppose what he described as the imposition of the Hindi language by the central government, news agency ANI reported.
Udhayanidhi Stalin was addressing a public meeting organised by the Chennai North-East District DMK in Tiruvottiyur on Sunday to observe Veera Vanakkam Day in honour of people who died during the language agitation in the state in the late 1930s.
The state Deputy Chief Minister emphasised that the people of Tamil Nadu hold a unique place in world history for having sacrificed their lives to protect their mother tongue.
He claimed that the movement, which started during the eras of Periyar EV Ramasamy and former Chief Minister CN Annadurai, continues with the same intensity even today.
‘Hindi Swallowed Many Mother Tongues’
Udhayanidhi Stalin also claimed that the mother tongues, once spoken in states such as Haryana, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh, witnessed a decline. “Hindi has become a language that swallows many mother tongues,” he said, as quoted by ANI.
He further stressed that the Tamil Nadu government would firmly oppose ‘Hindi imposition’, the New Education Policy (NEP), and any other form of coercion by the centre.
The political landscape of Tamil Nadu is on the boil, given the state is set to undergo polls this year. The ruling DMK government of the state has long accused the NDA-led central government of imposing Hindi language on the state – a claim the centre has rejected outright.
The DMK alleges that the Centre is using the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and its ‘three-language formula’ to impose Hindi in non-Hindi-speaking states, including Tamil Nadu.
Amidst the controversy, the Tamil Nadu government introduced its own State Education Policy (SEP), which dismisses the three-language formula.
Tamil Nadu, India, India
January 26, 2026, 14:02 IST
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