Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government in Tamil Nadu, accusing it of lacking the conviction to translate medical and engineering courses into Tamil. Addressing the ongoing language controversy in Parliament, Shah stated that the DMK, despite its public posturing on promoting Tamil, failed to take concrete steps to enable higher education in the regional language. He asserted that once the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes to power in the state, they would ensure medical and engineering courses are fully translated into Tamil, making higher education more accessible to Tamil-speaking students.
"You (DMK) do not have the courage to translate medical and engineering courses in the Tamil language," Shah declared, criticizing the ruling party for, in his view, betraying the interests of Tamil speakers while pretending to champion their cause. He accused the DMK of avoiding such efforts to distract the public from allegations of corruption and misgovernance. “You are doing this because you want to hide your corruption,” he remarked, suggesting that the party's linguistic rhetoric is a smokescreen to divert attention from its failures.
Shah also took the opportunity to address the broader debate surrounding Hindi and regional languages. He dismissed claims that Hindi is being promoted at the expense of other Indian languages, asserting that Hindi is not a competitor but a "companion to all Indian languages." He emphasized the idea of linguistic unity, stating, “Hindi strengthens all Indian languages, and all Indian languages strengthen Hindi,” portraying Hindi as a supportive, rather than dominating, force in India’s multilingual landscape.
In a significant announcement, Shah revealed that the Narendra Modi-led government has established an Indian Languages Section under the Department of Official Language. This initiative aims to enhance the use of all regional languages — including Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Assamese, Bengali, and others — in administrative and official work, reinforcing the government’s commitment to linguistic diversity.
To further solidify this commitment, Shah declared that from December onwards, he would personally conduct official correspondence with citizens, Chief Ministers, Ministers, and Members of Parliament in their respective regional languages. He framed this decision as a direct response to those who, according to him, "run their shops in the name of language to hide their corruption." The move appears designed to undercut allegations that the BJP favors Hindi over South Indian languages, particularly in Tamil Nadu, where such accusations are politically charged.
Responding to criticism that the BJP is opposed to South Indian languages, Shah dismissed the notion as baseless. He pointed to his own roots in Gujarat and highlighted Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Tamil Nadu origin as evidence of the party’s inclusivity. "How can we oppose South Indian languages when one of our senior ministers, Nirmala Sitharaman, is from Tamil Nadu?" he questioned, positioning the BJP as a pan-Indian party that respects regional identities.
Shah didn’t hold back from taking veiled digs at the opposition, particularly the DMK and other regional parties that he accused of exploiting the language issue for political gain. "I would like to tell those who spread poison in the name of language that you like languages from thousands of kilometers away, but you do not like the language of India," he said, implying that regional parties favor foreign influences over India’s own diverse linguistic heritage.
The speech sparked a fiery rebuttal from veteran Rajya Sabha MP Vaiko, a staunch Tamil nationalist and vocal opponent of Hindi imposition. Vaiko delivered a blistering counterattack, denouncing Hindi as “a harsh language with no grammar or literature.” His provocative remarks underscored the deep-rooted sentiments surrounding the language debate in Tamil Nadu, where opposition to Hindi has historically been a rallying point for Dravidian parties.
Vaiko didn’t stop at criticizing Hindi — he turned his ire toward Amit Shah himself, accusing the Home Minister of speaking with “arrogance” due to the BJP’s parliamentary majority. "Amit Shah is speaking in arrogance because he has got majority," Vaiko declared, arguing that the BJP’s dominance in the central government has emboldened it to push a pro-Hindi agenda while sidelining regional languages like Tamil.
Predicting a grim political future for the BJP in Tamil Nadu, Vaiko asserted that the party has no chance of ever establishing a foothold in the state. “BJP will never form the government in Tamil Nadu, it will be buried,” he declared, painting the BJP’s efforts as futile in a region with a long history of resistance to perceived cultural imposition from the North.
The escalating war of words between Shah and Vaiko has further intensified the language debate in Tamil Nadu, with both sides doubling down on their positions. For the BJP, Shah’s speech represents a strategic attempt to challenge the DMK’s linguistic narrative and position the party as a defender of Tamil culture — despite the party’s historically limited influence in the state. For Vaiko and other regional leaders, the confrontation serves as an opportunity to rally Tamil pride and push back against what they view as a growing centralization of linguistic policy under the BJP-led government.
As the debate continues to heat up, it remains to be seen whether the BJP’s efforts to champion Tamil — while promoting Hindi as a "unifying" language — will resonate with the people of Tamil Nadu or reinforce the opposition’s portrayal of the party as an outsider to the state’s deeply rooted linguistic identity.
