DMK working president and Tamil Nadu opposition leader M.K Stalin has attacked the Centre over Hindi imposition and threatened to initiate 1965-like agitations in the state.
According to a report by The Indian Express, addressing a gathering of nearly 10,000 people on Friday night, Stalin said, “Let me remind you: our protests (anti-Hindi agitation) in 1965 had led to a regime change. And the same situation seems to have emerged.”
Stalin’s statement came on January 26, the day Hindi was made the sole official language by the Congress government at the centre in 1965, which had triggered widespread protests and riots in Tamil Nadu. By regime change, Stalin referred to the DMK’s victory in the 1967 assembly election defeating the Congress, which never returned to power in Tamil Nadu since then. Congress government headed by Indira Gandhi had later amended the Official Languages Act in 1967 guaranteeing the indefinite use of Hindi and English as official languages.
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On Friday night, Stalin accused the Modi government of promoting Hindi in all areas of life — from Kendriya Vidyalayas and CBSE schools to signboards on highways down to air and train tickets and ATM machines.
“It is all about safeguarding our culture, our language, our tradition, and our soul,” he said, clarifying that he is not saying that the DMK is itching to protest.
The DMK workers will start statewide protests from January 28 against various policies.
