- Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi warned of demographic changes in Assam, West Bengal, and Purvanchal
- He described these changes as a ticking time bomb needing urgent study and solutions
- He stressed that bitterness over language is not part of India's culture or ethos
Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Tuesday expressed concern over what he called demographic changes in some parts of the country, including Assam and West Bengal, as he described the trend as a "ticking time bomb" and urged stakeholders to find solutions.
Amid raging language rows in some states and claims of Hindi imposition, including in Maharashtra, he noted it is not in India's character or culture to have bitterness in the name of language.
"This country always managed to fight external aggression. But when it comes to internal matters, what happened in the past? In 1947, India was Partitioned because of internal implosion. People following an ideology announced they don't want to live with the rest of us. This ideology broke our nation," emphasised Mr Ravi.
The Tamil Nadu Governor was addressing students and faculty members at the Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU), Gandhinagar, on the occasion of commencement of the academic year 2025-2026.
"Is anyone concerned about the changes in demography which took place in Assam, West Bengal and Purvanchal (parts of UP and Bihar) during the last 30-40 years? Can anyone predict today that in the coming 50 years, work for partitioning the nation will not happen in these areas?" he asked.
"We should conduct a study on the sensitive demography growing in some regions and what will be its future. This issue is like a ticking time bomb. We have to think about how we will deal with this issue in the future and start finding solutions from today itself," stressed the former IPS officer.
According to him, a country's military strength was not adequate enough to deal with internal disturbances.
Mr Ravi argued the Soviet Union would not have disintegrated in 1991 if its military strength had been sufficient to handle internal problems.
Amid the ongoing rows over language in Maharashtra and Karnataka, Mr Ravi said it is not India's character to have bitterness in the name of language.
"After independence, we started fighting with each other. One of the reasons was language. They (those advocating states based on linguistic identity) called it linguistic nationalism," the Governor maintained.
He pointed out that central leadership has time and again made it clear all Indian languages are in the same league and deserve equal respect.
"Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said on numerous occasions that all Indian languages are our national languages and we respect each one of them. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also said that at least primary education should be imparted in local languages in each state," said Mr Ravi.
The Governor insisted bitterness among people in the name of language is not part of India's ethos.
"It is not in the character of India to have bitterness among ourselves in the name of language...it is not in our culture. After independence, we lost our sense of nationhood. As a result, our diversity, which was our strength, became a weakness," he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
