Tamil Nadu’s ruling class, led by M.K. Stalin and his Dravidian ideological cohorts, never misses an opportunity to oppose the so-called ‘imposition’ of Hindi and Sanskrit. The mere mention of these languages is enough to send them into paroxysms of righteous indignation. They paint Hindi as a sinister North Indian plot to erase Tamil identity while conveniently ignoring their own glaring contradictions. But their hypocrisy doesn’t end with language politics – it extends to their blatant hatred of Hindus and Sanatana Dharma.
Tamil Nadu’s selective language barrier
Step outside Tamil Nadu, and you will find Tamil migrants seamlessly picking up Hindi for communication in North India. Go a little further, and watch them effortlessly learn Arabic after landing in the Gulf, where lakhs toil for a livelihood. Not a murmur of protest against Arabic – an entirely foreign language with no connection to any Indian tongue. But Hindi? That is where they draw the line. The hypocrisy is stunning.
And if Stalin and his ilk truly detest ‘non-Dravidian’ languages, why stop at Hindi? Why embrace English, which was forced upon India by British colonialists? When it suited them to serve the White man as clerks and administrators, they gleefully learned English. But when it comes to Hindi, which is spoken by millions of Indians, they suddenly turn into warriors of linguistic purity.
Perhaps that is because only those who cannot shine beyond their state borders obsess over language politics. While capable individuals from Tamil Nadu – scientists, business leaders, and artists – effortlessly navigate multilingual India and the world, the Dravidianist politicians stay trapped in their narrow linguistic bubble, stirring up resentment to stay relevant.
Bollywood money? Yes! Hindi? No!
Perhaps the most laughable irony is Tamil cinema’s dependence on Hindi-speaking audiences. Udhayanidhi Stalin, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s son, has his films dubbed in Hindi for a wider audience and, of course, bigger box office collections. If Hindi is such a threat to Tamil culture, why cash in on its reach? It’s a classic case of having your cake and eating it too – loudly opposing Hindi in public while quietly raking in money from Hindi-speaking moviegoers.
Tamil Nadu’s greatest film icons never had a problem embracing Hindi. Vyjayantimala, Hema Malini, Rekha, and Sridevi – all Tamil women – became superstars in Bollywood without losing an ounce of their Tamil identity. Kamal Haasan, the so-called torchbearer of Dravidian ideology, has acted in multiple Hindi films. Were they any less Dravidian because they made it big in Bollywood?
And what about Tamil Nadu’s own history of welcoming outsiders? M.G. Ramachandran (MGR), a Malayali by birth, ruled Tamil Nadu’s political landscape for decades. Jayalalitha, originally from Karnataka, became one of the most beloved Tamil leaders. Superstar Rajinikanth, a Maharashtrian, and actress-turned-politician Khushboo, a North Indian, have been wholeheartedly embraced by the Tamil people. If Tamils are so averse to non-Dravidian influences, how did these leaders become cultural icons?
Will changing the rupee symbol change its value?
Stalin’s government recently replaced the rupee symbol with a Tamil letter in official documents – a move that reeks of petty symbolism. Does he believe that altering the symbol will somehow change the rupee’s value or standing in global markets? As Shakespeare famously wrote, ‘A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’ But in Tamil Nadu, political gimmicks are preferred over meaningful economic reforms. Instead of focusing on policies that would genuinely benefit Tamils, Stalin chose to indulge in linguistic tokenism to appease his voter base.
The Aryan-Dravidian delusion
Stalin and his Dravidian supremacist supporters often parrot outdated colonial theories about an ‘Aryan invasion’ that supposedly pushed Dravidians southward. This convenient fiction, propagated by British historians to divide Indians, is now a political weapon wielded against North Indians. Modern genetic and archaeological studies have debunked this Aryan-Dravidian divide, but Tamil Nadu’s Dravidian ideologues cling to it like gospel truth.
This narrative fuels an artificial sense of victimhood, allowing them to portray Hindi as an ‘oppressor’s language’ while blissfully ignoring the linguistic diversity of India. The irony? They aggressively promote Tamil in other states, demand official recognition of Tamil in central government institutions, and insist on Tamil translations for everything. But when Hindi enters Tamil Nadu, they cry ‘imposition’!
Hatred towards Hindus and Sanatana Dharma
The Dravidianist hatred is not limited to Hindi – it extends to Hinduism itself. Udhayanidhi Stalin, Tamil Nadu’s chief minister’s son, openly declared that Sanatana Dharma should be eradicated, likening it to disease. Perhaps he doesn’t understand that ‘Sanatana’ means eternal. Many invaders and barbaric rulers have tried for centuries to wipe out Hinduism – destroying temples, imposing oppressive taxes, and forcing conversions – but Sanatana Dharma has outlived them all. Does Udhayanidhi think he will succeed where they failed?
Looting Hindu temples for appeasement politics
If Stalin’s government is truly secular, why does it control Hindu temples while mosques and churches remain untouched? The Tamil Nadu government rakes in thousands of crores from Hindu temples every year through the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HRCE) ministry, which seizes temple earnings from offerings (hundi money) and temple lands.
Stalin’s supporters argue that his government spends some of this revenue on temple renovations. But here’s the catch: this is NOT taxpayer money. It is Hindu money, collected from temple devotees. Meanwhile, tax money – collected from Hindus and non-Hindus alike – is freely spent on appeasing minorities through schemes and subsidies. If Hindu temples are under government control, why are churches and mosques exempt? Why don’t they contribute a single rupee to the state treasury?
Time to drop Dravidian hypocrisy
The Dravidian hypocrisy stands exposed. They scream about Hindi imposition but happily learn Arabic and profit from Hindi-speaking audiences. They attack Hinduism while looting Hindu temples but protect minority institutions. They cling to outdated colonial myths of Aryans vs. Dravidians while exploiting Tamil pride for political mileage. If Tamil Nadu’s leadership truly cares about fairness, they should relinquish control of Hindu temples, drop their selective outrage against Hindi, and stop demonising Sanatana Dharma. Until then, their duplicity will remain as glaring as ever.