Stop Hindi imposition: Chennai households protest three-language policy through kolams

Tamil Nadu residents staged a unique protest against the imposition of Hindi by creating traditional kolams on the streets.

Transcript

00:00Take a look at this visual. On February 19, 2025, residents of Ayyappakkam village in

00:07Tamil Nadu staged a unique protest against Hindi imposition. They created traditional

00:12columns with messages like, Welcome Tamil Language and Stop Hindi Imposition. This protest

00:17unfolded amid a heated exchange between the DMK-led government and the Centre. At the

00:22heart of the conflict was the release of funds under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme and the National

00:26Education Policy 2020. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin took to X to praise the protest. He

00:32recalled a poem by Bharati Dasan which stressed the need to oppose Hindi if it was forced

00:36upon the people. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Udayanidhi Stalin called on all political

00:41parties in Tamil Nadu to unite against the Centre's alleged imposition of Hindi. The

01:01India bloc parties joined the protest. They accused the BJP-led Centre of repeatedly encroaching

01:06on states' rights. Their grievances ranged from fund cuts in the union budget to the

01:10withholding of educational grants for Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu had always resisted the

01:14three-language formula. Since 1968, the state had firmly stood by its two-language policy,

01:20believing it to be enough. As the language debate grew louder, Tamil Nadu's stance remained

01:25unchanged. Protest surge, political rhetoric intensified. The fight for linguistic identity

01:31had once again taken centre stage.