Tamil Nadu Language Row: After a fresh row began over Hindi signposts along the Sathankulam-Nazareth state highway in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district, two officials were suspended on Friday. The controversy erupted after former Chief Minister and DMK chief MK Stalin accused the TVK government of attempting to impose Hindi in the state, warning it against making changes to the state's two-language policy of Tamil and English.
The swift suspensions came after images of the newly installed signposts in Hindi alongside Tamil and English surfaced on social media. The state government stated that an assistant executive engineer and an assistant engineer from the highways department were responsible for including the Hindi signposts, which violated Tamil Nadu's two-language policy, reported HT.
(Signboard before )
Signboard after DMK hits out at TVK
Authorities further said, “Departmental action is also being taken against them.”
The action follows demands from the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) for strict measures against those responsible for the Hindi signboards.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Stalin wrote, "So far, Tamil Nadu has been facing the Union government's imposition of Hindi. Now, it seems the state government itself is taking up that role, which appears to be the change they had promised," Stalin said.
Stalin also questioned the TVK government's approach, saying, "Is this yet another attempt by the TVK government to first test the waters in everything and then take a 'U-turn' once opposition emerges?"
"I warn the TVK government, which is running a 'reels government' for North Indian influencers, to understand the dangers of this and immediately change its approach," Stalin said.
Stalin stated that the two-language policy was central to Tamil Nadu's identity and cautioned the administration against altering it.
"The two-language policy is Tamil Nadu's lifeline. Do not play with it!" he said.
The language row has long been a focal point of political debate in Tamil Nadu, with the state firmly maintaining its two-language policy of Tamil and English while opposing the three-language formula under the National Education Policy.
This development comes against the backdrop of the TVK government's previous remark stating that it would continue to follow the existing two-language policy of teaching Tamil and English, noting that the policy has been upheld in the state since a 1968 resolution of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.