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Shortly after former Team India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin`s comments on Hindi, which led to a debate, Tamil Nadu`s president K Annamalai agreed with the cricketer and called Hindi as a “link language” and a “language of convenience”.
Agreeing with Ravichandran Ashwin, Annamalai said, “Correct. It is not our national language which Annamalai is also telling you. Not only my dear friend Ashwin has to say that. It is not the national language. It was a link language, it is a language of convenience. Nowhere anyone is saying that Hindi is our national language.”
Ravichandran Ashwin who recently announced his retirement from international cricket said to students in Chennai during their graduation ceremony. During a speech, the veteran of Indian cricket said that Hindi is not India`s national language, instead it is an official language.
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The language debate in Tamil Nadu has been a point of contention, with Chief Minister MK Stalin also writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about concerns regarding linguistic diversity and representation.
Stalin condemned the distorted rendition of the state anthem, without the reference to the glory of “Dravida” land, at a Doordarshan function in which Governor RN Ravi participated.
The Chief Minister also stated that the government has not done enough to develop the Tamil language.
In October 2024, Stalin stated that the Tamil language is the race and lifeblood of Dravidians, and said that if racism is the mother tongue of this land, then it is his pride.
“What has the Modi government done for the Tamil language that you claim to be praising? From 2013-2014 to 2022-2023, a total of Rs.2435 crore has been spent for the development of the Sanskrit language, Rs 2029 crore for the Central Sanskrit University in Delhi and Rs 406 crore for the National Sanskrit University in Tirupati,” Stalin had said in October.
“This is two and a half times more than what was spent ten years ago. During the same period, only Rs.167 crore was spent on the development of the Tamil language. In other words, only 7 per cent of the expenditure on Sanskrit was allocated to Tamil,” the CM added.
(With ANI Inputs)
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