N Nagarajan
I write this as someone who completed secondary education in a century-old school in Delhi, where both Tamil and non-Tamil students studied together. From Classes 1 to 3, Tamil was the medium of instruction, while English was taught as a language. English wasn’t our home language, but we gradually picked it up, thanks to early exposure in school.
For better or worse, English has now become the pan-Indian link language. It has enabled millions of young Indians—especially from non-Hindi speaking backgrounds—to secure jobs both within India and abroad. In contrast, attempts to impose Hindi have consistently triggered controversy, not just in Tamil Nadu, but across Southern states. Even Maharashtra recently faced public outrage over a similar issue, forcing the government there to withdraw a contentious order.
Ironically, even English—the so-called colonial language—has not been spared from politicisation.
Last month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stirred another language-related controversy, possibly reacting to social media mockery of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s English proficiency at the recent G7 summit. Let me be clear: such ridicule, whether from Congress or other quarters, is disgraceful and must be condemned. No one should be judged on their command of English—or any Indian language.
Moreover, Rahul Gandhi has little moral authority to lecture BJP leaders on their children studying in English-medium or foreign schools. He comes from an elite background and studied abroad himself. His claim that RSS and BJP leaders want to deprive the poor of English is misleading. What poor children truly need are functional schools with basic facilities and qualified teachers—something Congress-led state governments should focus on delivering, instead of playing politics over language.
India officially recognises 22 languages and has over 19,000 languages and dialects. English—now increasingly Indianised—is a part of this linguistic landscape. Indian words are regularly added to global dictionaries. Neither Shah nor Rahul Gandhi should divide Indians along linguistic lines. The Home Minister, in particular, must resist reinforcing any inferiority complex. Language is not a measure of intellect, status, or patriotism, whether one is rich or poor.
On the Hindi front, let’s also be realistic. No government can stop people from learning or speaking Hindi in Tamil Nadu or anywhere else. Opposition to Hindi imposition—whether by DMK today or AIADMK in the past—has largely been a political posture. The fact remains: the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, established in Madras (now Chennai), has helped lakhs of people learn Hindi for over a century. No state government has tried to shut it down.
Thanks to cinema, a large number of films from Tamil Nadu and other Southern states are now being produced in Hindi too. This cultural exchange speaks louder than any political rhetoric.
It’s time the political class—both from Tamil Nadu and the Centre—kept politics out of language. India’s strength lies in its linguistic diversity. Our many tongues are not a weakness—they are the very foundation of our civilisation. They illuminate the cultural lamp that unites us as a nation.
Long live Indian languages. Jai Hind.
