Following Ravichandran Ashwin’s comments on the status of Hindi in India, which ignited a debate, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tamil Nadu President K Annamalai expressed his agreement with the cricketer on Friday, calling Hindi a “link language” and a “language of convenience.”
Responding to Ashwin’s statements, Annamalai further clarified, “Correct. It is not our national language, which Annamalai is also telling you. Not only my dear friend Ashwin has to say that. It is not the national language. It was a link language, it is a language of convenience. Nowhere anyone is saying that Hindi is our national language.”
Ashwin had earlier addressed students during their graduation ceremony in Chennai, where he clarified that Hindi is not India’s national language, but an official language.
The ongoing debate surrounding the Hindi language has been a longstanding issue in Tamil Nadu, with Chief Minister MK Stalin also voicing concerns. Stalin recently wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing worries regarding linguistic diversity and the adequate representation of regional languages.
In addition to this, Stalin criticized a Doordarshan function in which the state’s anthem was rendered in a way that excluded the reference to “Dravida” land’s glory. He also accused the central government of not doing enough for the Tamil language.
In October 2024, Stalin highlighted the disparity in funding between Sanskrit and Tamil. He stated that Rs.2435 crore had been spent on Sanskrit development from 2013-2014 to 2022-2023, compared to just Rs.167 crore for Tamil. The CM argued that this imbalance illustrated a lack of support for the Tamil language and its development.
“What has the Modi government done for the Tamil language that you claim to be praising? From 2013-2014 to 2022-2023, a total of Rs.2435 crore has been spent for the development of the Sanskrit language, Rs 2029 crore for the Central Sanskrit University in Delhi and Rs 406 crore for the National Sanskrit University in Tirupati,” Stalin had stated in October. “This is two and a half times more than what was spent ten years ago. During the same period, only Rs.167 crore was spent on the development of the Tamil language. In other words, only 7 per cent of the expenditure on Sanskrit was allocated to Tamil,” he added.