The BJP has backed Pawan Kalyan's remarks.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) today responded to remarks made by actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan over the ongoing language debate. The Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister had accused Tamil Nadu politicians of hypocrisy, questioning why they opposed Hindi imposition while allowing Tamil films to be dubbed into Hindi for commercial benefits.
DMK spokesperson Dr Syed Hafeezullah dismissed Mr Kalyan's argument, calling it a "hollow understanding" of Tamil Nadu's stance on linguistic policies. "Tamil Nadu has never opposed individuals learning Hindi or any other language. What we oppose is the imposition of Hindi or any language on the people of our state," he said.
The rebuttal comes amid debate on the National Education Policy (NEP) and the Centre's push for Hindi, which Tamil Nadu has historically resisted. DMK leaders insist that equating language policy with business decisions - such as dubbing films - was an oversimplification that ignored the state's longstanding linguistic position.
Mr Kalyan, founder of the Janasena Party, a key NDA ally and a supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took aim at Tamil Nadu politicians for their resistance to Hindi. He questioned why Tamil Nadu leaders protested against Hindi while Tamil films continued to be dubbed into Hindi to cater to a national audience.
"I do not understand why some criticise Sanskrit. Why do Tamil Nadu politicians oppose Hindi while allowing their movies to be dubbed in Hindi for financial gain? They want labour from Bihar but are opposing hindi. What kind of logic is that?" Mr Kalyan asked.
The DMK responded by saying that Tamil Nadu already has Hindi Prachar Sabhas that voluntarily teach Hindi to those interested. "If people want to learn Hindi, they are welcome to do so. The issue arises when the Central government mandates Hindi learning through policies like the NEP or PM SHRI schools," Mr Hafeezullah said.
Senior DMK leader TKS Elangovan echoed Mr Hafeezullah's statement and added that this has always been Tamil nadu's position on the language issue.
"We have been opposing Hindi since 1938. We had passed legislation in the state assembly that Tamil Nadu will always follow the two-language formula because of the advice and suggestions of the experts in education, not actors. The bill was passed way back in 1968 when Pawan Kalyan was not even born. He doesn't know the politics of Tamil Nadu. This is not the first time we have opposed Hindi because we feel that education in the mother tongue is the best way of training people. He (Pawan Kalyan) wants to somehow support the BJP so that he can gain something out of the BJP government," Mr Elangovan said.
Actor-politician Prakash Raj also joined the criticism. Taking to his social media account, he said: "Someone please tell Pawan Kalyan that asking you not to impose your language on us is not hatred for the language but it is to protect our language, our mother, and self-respect."
The BJP backed Mr Kalyan's remarks. The party argued that Hindi should be promoted more aggressively in southern states.
"Hindi is our national language, and the government is working to ensure it reaches the masses. Unfortunately, previous governments have tried to suppress the culture of nationalism. The use of Hindi should be implemented strongly in the South as well," BJP leader Vikram Randhawa said.
Hindi is one of the official languages of the country and not the "national language" as Mr Randhawa claimed.
