Madras High court judge Justice Anand Venkatesh’s remarks on alleged Hindi imposition have reignited Tamil Nadu’s language debate, stressing cultural identity and historic resistance. Sharing a personal story about his son, he urged students to value linguistic rights and regional pride across generations.
CHENNAI: The ongoing debate in Tamil Nadu regarding alleged Hindi imposition has gained support from an unexpected source, Justice Anand Venkatesh, a sitting judge of the Madras High Court. He has emphasized the significance of preserving linguistic identity and recognizing the state’s historical language struggles.
While addressing students and faculty at a law college, Justice Venkatesh candidly reflected on Tamil Nadu’s long-standing resistance against language imposition, drawing from a personal experience involving his son.
After watching the recently released Tamil film Parasakthi, which prominently features the language movement in the state, he realized his son was unaware of the historical context behind the language agitation.
Emphasizing that understanding the language agitation is vital for every Tamil speaker, Justice Venkatesh remarked,
“I went to the Parasakthi movie with my son. After watching it, I asked him about the history of the language agitation in Tamil Nadu. He said he was not aware of it. I felt ashamed and considered myself to have failed in my responsibility,”
While asserting that Tamils are not opposed to learning other languages, the judge firmly dismissed any attempts at linguistic imposition.
He stated,
“We all know that without learning English, one cannot cross Tamil Nadu. Tamils are not against other languages, and Tamils are even learning other languages. But because of the antiquity and pride of my Tamil language, I will never accept language imposition from others,”
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Justice Venkatesh also provided insights on classical languages, highlighting Tamil’s rich heritage and its status as a living language. He noted that while Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Chinese, Sanskrit, and Tamil are all over 2,000 years old, only Chinese and Tamil remain actively spoken today.
He pointed out,
“Chinese and Tamil are the two 2,000-year-old languages that are still spoken languages,”
He expressed concern about the dwindling interest in studying Tamil among students, suggesting that a utilitarian, grades-focused approach to education negatively impacts language appreciation.
Highlighting how an increasing emphasis on other second languages in schools has diminished students’ exposure to Tamil, he remarked,
“In language, scoring marks is not important. It is important to understand that language is our breath and soul. Language is our identity,”
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Tamil Nadu experienced intense anti-Hindi agitations during the 1960s in response to attempts at Hindi imposition, a movement led by the DMK, which ultimately helped the Dravidian party rise to power. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had later assured that English would remain the link language between the Centre and the states and that Hindi would not be imposed if even one state opposed it.
With Assembly elections approaching in Tamil Nadu, the ruling DMK is using Parasakthi to engage younger voters and reaffirm its historical commitment to protecting the Tamil language.