- Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister criticised northern migrants for "knowing only Hindi"
- He praised Tamil Nadu's two-language policy enabling better global job opportunities for locals
- Industries Minister had highlighted state's inclusivity and defended Tamil protection amid language debates
Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister MRK Panneerselvam reignited the two vs three language row Wednesday - setting the stage for another explosive battle over 'Hindi imposition' weeks before a key Assembly election - after crude remarks about migrant workers from the northern states.
The minister had said those from the north, "having learnt only Hindi", had limited job opportunities in the southern state and wound up with menial jobs, while Tamilians benefitted from the state's two-language policy - which focuses on Tamil and English - and secured jobs in the US or London.
"... those from the north are coming to Tamil Nadu to clean tables... they are coming here to work as construction labourers pani puri sellers as they have only learnt Hindi," he declared.
"But our children have gone abroad... as we follow a two-language policy and learned English well. They are going abroad and getting opportunities to earn in crores... in USA, London."
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam responded swifty; spokesperson, Dr Syed Hafeezullah said "there is dignity in every legal work... we are not against it".
Tamil Nadu, he stressed, had "nothing against Hindi speakers or the jobs they do".
However, he also re-phrased the comment as criticism of the centre's three-language policy.
"The two-language policy has helped Tamil Nadu and its people. English has given people development and global opportunities. Without this priority for English, people in Hindi-speaking states have not been able to develop in education..." he said in a video statement released this morning.
DMK Lok Sabha MP TR Baalu, meanwhile, suggested his colleague had been misquoted.
"Panneerselvam is a responsible minister... he has been quoted wrongly (and) nothing has been said against north Indians," he said, while also underlining the state's anti-'Hindi imposition' sentiment.
Earlier, at NDTV's Tamil Nadu Summit last month, Industries Minister TRB Rajaa offered a more nuanced response on the 'Hindi imposition' row. He said the state government would never stop people speaking in Hindi and pointed to large German and Japanese populations in the state.
READ | "Never Said Won't Allow Hindi In Tamil Nadu": Minister To NDTV
"All these foreigners can find their happiness in Tamil Nadu. I wonder why my Hindi-speaking friends can't..." he said. The state, though, he also said, has a duty to protect Tamil.
Panneerselvam's comments, and the controversy it will likely lead to, come weeks before Tamil Nadu votes in an Assembly election.
The DMK - allied with the Congress, though ties are strained over seat-share talks - is bidding for a second consecutive term and a fourth straight major election win over its Dravidian rival, the AIADMK.
The AIADMK - which retained the two-language policy when it was in power - has joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
And language, an emotive issue in Tamil Nadu, will certainly be a campaign issue, with the BJP-led federal government's contentious National Education Policy once again in the spotlight.
READ | "Hindi Devoured Many Languages": Stalin Jr's Big Charge Before Poll
The NEP kicked up a massive row after it was announced in 2019 and has flared up periodically, including in February last year after the centre pushed its three-language policy that, on paper, requires students to learn a third language in addition to English and those of the state.
The Tamil Nadu government called this an attempt to impose Hindi on non-speaking states.
Historically, the southern states have alleged the centre has been trying to impose Hindi over regional languages; the stand-off in Tamil Nadu led to riots in the 1930s and '60s.
READ | "No Question Of Imposing Language But...": Education Minister In Hindi Row
The state follows a two-language policy, i.e., it teaches Tamil and English in state-run schools, and this, Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi told NDTV last year, allows students to connect with their linguistic heritage, and, by learning English, interface globally.
In response to the protests from Tamil Nadu, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told NDTV there is "no question of imposing any language", and that the NEP would only correct an "over-reliance on foreign languages, limiting students' exposure to linguistic roots".
