Encourage Tamil but Don’t Insult Hindi; Can’t Deny Individuals Right to Learn: Sitharaman at CNN-News18 Town Hall

Encourage Tamil but don’t insult Hindi, states must put nation first, said finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman at CNN-News18 Town Hall in Chennai on Monday over the “Hindi imposition" debate in the country, adding instigation in the name of language is unacceptable.

“It’s one thing to believe in an ideology but a totally different thing to deny individuals their right to learn what they want," Sitharaman said at the event, adding that students learning Hindi should be treated equally.

When asked has there been any change since the time she witnessed violent protests against Hindi in the state during her college days, Sitharaman said it is “difficult to believe". “What I am saying is the truth, my experiences reveal the truth and I am only narrating what is true. When I was studying, if anybody tried to learn Hindi or Sanskrit, there would be criticism from all quarters."

She even said, “Even today, a student who is learning Hindi and Sanskrit, if they come as toppers, do they get scholarships or fellowships? No, they don’t. They are not recognised. What kind of discrimination is this? What kind of justice is this? If the same child he goes on to become the CEO of a big company, won’t you accept him as your own?"

The FM had delivered a speech in Hindi at an event organised by the Hindi Vivek Magazine recently, and said speaking in Hindi gives her “shivers".

Last week, chief minister MK Stalin had said Indian languages, including Tamil, should be made official languages of the Union government and Indian Languages Day should be celebrated instead of the Hindi Diwas. India is known for its integrity and there must not be any effort aimed at dividing the country in the name of “Hindia," Stalin said, in an apparent hint to his party’s historical line against “imposing Hindi".

Governor RN Ravi, however, had in May said the Centre was not imposing Hindi or any other language in Tamil Nadu. He said an impression is being created that the government is trying to “impose Hindi on Tamil Nadu. This is far from the truth".

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government had in January told the Madras High Court that there was no prohibition on learning Hindi in the state, though it follows the two-language (Tamil and English) policy so as not to overburden school students.

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