Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 15: Supporting the Centre’s stand on Hindi, the Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Janasena Party chief Pawan Kalyan, an ally of the BJP, on Saturday joined the on-going “language war” attacking the Tamil Nadu government and the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for opposing Hindi while allowing their movies to be dubbed in Hindi for financial gains.
Kalyan’s remarks come in the wake of a huge language war between the MK Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government and the Centre. The DMK has accused the Centre of trying to “impose” Hindi on the southern states through the three-language formula as proposed in the new National Education Policy (NEP).
While commemorating the 11th formation day of his party on Friday, the actor-turned-politician called for the need to embrace linguistic diversity to maintain the integrity of the nation and foster love and unity among the people. “India needs multiple languages, including Tamil, and not just two,” he said.
Slamming the DMK government, Mr Kalyan, founder of the Janasena Party, a key NDA ally and a supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, “I do not understand why some criticise Sanskrit. Why do Tamil Nadu politicians oppose Hindi while allowing their movies to be dubbed in Hindi for financial gain? They want money from Bollywood but refuse to accept Hindi. They want labour from Bihar but are opposing Hindi. What kind of logic is that?” Mr Kalyan asked.
The DMK responded with its spokesperson Dr Syed Hafeezullah dismissing Mr Kalyan’s argument, calling it a “hollow understanding” of Tamil Nadu’s stance on linguistic policies. “Tamil Nadu has never opposed individuals learning Hindi or any other language. What we oppose is the imposition of Hindi or any language on the people of our state,” he said.
The rebuttal comes amid debate on the National Education Policy (NEP) and the Centre’s push for Hindi, which Tamil Nadu has historically resisted. DMK leaders insist that equating language policy with business decisions – such as dubbing films – was an oversimplification that ignored the state’s longstanding linguistic position.
Dr Hafeezullah pointed out that Tamil Nadu already has Hindi Prachar Sabhas that voluntarily teach Hindi to those interested. “If people want to learn Hindi, they are welcome to do so. The issue arises when the Central government mandates Hindi learning through policies like the NEP or PM SHRI schools,” he said.
Senior DMK leader TKS Elangovan echoed Dr Hafeezullah’s statement and added that this has always been Tamil Nadu’s position on the language issue. “We have been opposing Hindi since 1938. We had passed legislation in the state assembly that Tamil Nadu will always follow the two-language formula because of the advice and suggestions of the experts in education, not actors.
“The bill was passed way back in 1968 when Pawan Kalyan was not even born. He doesn’t know the politics of Tamil Nadu. This is not the first time we have opposed Hindi because we feel that education in the mother tongue is the best way of training people. He (Pawan Kalyan) wants to somehow support the BJP so that he can gain something out of the BJP government,” Mr Elangovan said.
Actor-politician Prakash Raj also joined the criticism. Taking to his social media account, he said: “Someone please tell Pawan Kalyan that asking you not to impose your language on us is not hatred for the language but it is to protect our language, our mother, and self-respect.”
The BJP backed Mr Kalyan’s remarks. The party argued that Hindi should be promoted more aggressively in southern states. “Hindi is our national language, and the government is working to ensure it reaches the masses. Unfortunately, previous governments have tried to suppress the culture of nationalism. The use of Hindi should be implemented strongly in the South as well,” BJP leader Vikram Randhawa said.
During the event, Kalyan also called for debates on delimitation amid worries among some politicians who argue that some states will lose their MP seats in the Lok Sabha, while asserting his credentials as a Sanatan Dharma champion and his party’s success against several odds.
Kalyan’s remarks were lauded by the BJP. Taking to X, former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “No dynast including @mkstalin’s posse of crooks, will and should be allowed to divide indians bcoz of their opportunistic politics. (sic).” “This type of #INDIalliance divisive politics is only to distract people from asking the important questions – what did @arivalayam DMK to improve peoples and families lives in last 5 years? NOTHING,” he added.
BJP spokesperson Rachna Reddy said Kalyan made it clear that multiple languages were needed to foster young minds. “Why does Tamil Nadu have this insecurity that no other state seems to have? We always had the three-language system in schools.” “Why is Tamil Nadu okay with the children being trained in foreign languages like French and German and not Hindi? Do they think they are a separate state?” she added.
BJP leader Vikram Randhawa said Hindi was India’s national language and the government was working to ensure that the language reached the masses. “Unfortunately, the previous governments always tried to suppress the culture of nationalism…The use of Hindi should be implemented strongly in the South as well. People living in South India should think that they are earning crores of rupees from North India by dubbing movies in Hindi, but when it comes to speaking and teaching Hindi, they have problems,” he added.
The language row between the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government intensified after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s recent remarks on Stalin’s opposition to the NEP during Question Hour in Parliament.
Pradhan called the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government “dishonest” and accused them of “ruining the future of Tamil Nadu students” by refusing to implement the PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme. Stalin condemned his remarks and called them an “insult to the people of Tamil Nadu.
