Paying tributes on the occasion of Language Martyrs Day, Stalin said, "a state that loved its language like its life, unitedly struggled against Hindi imposition; protested with the same intensity every time it was imposed."
Throughout Parasakthi, Sivakarthikeyan mentions he is not against Hindi but the imposition of Hindi, notes A Ganesh Nadar.
There's a lot of OTT entertainment in store this February. Joginder Tuteja lists the interesting line-up of movies and series coming up.
The Madras high court on Friday directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to grant a censor certificate to actor-turned-politician Vijay's upcoming film Jana Nayagan, setting aside the board's directive to refer the matter to a review committee.
As Tamil Nadu gears up for elections, a clash of films with distinct political ideologies is set to unfold at the box office, mirroring the rivalry between political parties.
The DMK may consider a two-tier campaign, where they keep the focus on Chief Minister Stalin, as a senior statesman with 50-plus years of political experience, and let EPS and the BJP shout in the wilderness. In such a case, the second-tier may project Udhayanidhi as the contender and chosen obstructionist in Vijay's path. The attempt, if any, would be to reduce Vijay to Udhayanidhi's level when the former is aiming at Stalin and Stalin alone in the state's political horizon, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Maharashtrians are facing a dual battle -- numerical battle with North Indians and financial battle with Gujaratis and Marwaris.' 'This has created anxiety about survival and ownership over Mumbai and Maharashtra.'
'There are tall personalities who have utilised Mumbai and Maharashtra for their career growth, but they never thought it is their responsibility to learn Marathi.'
"I feel no one can reject the contribution of Maharashtra and Marathi people in the history and present of the country. If someone is rejecting it, then I feel it is wrong," Fadnavis said.
The BJP regime, which is unable to take on the DMK, the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu is involved in a "cultural invasion," Siva, a Rajya Sabha MP, alleged.
'We are not opposed to any Indian language. We are against Hindi imposition.'
'Why should children, who are already burdened with so many subjects, be over-burdened with three languages?'
'The vast majority of BJP supporters in Tamil Nadu can't speak any language other than Tamil.' 'When rural Tamil Nadu can't speak any other language than Tamil, how are they going to convince them that they have to learn Hindi?'
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin said on Wednesday that the DMK will not oppose Hindi if it is not "imposed" on Tamil Nadu, stating that forcing the language on Tamils amounts to playing with their self-respect. Stalin's remarks come amidst an intense language row in the state, with the DMK alleging that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre was trying to impose Hindi through the three-language formula in the National Education Policy (NEP), a charge denied by the union government.
The three-language formula proposed in the National Education Policy 2020, is at the centre of the political row between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led Tamil Nadu government and the central government.
If the DMK is able to sustain the momentum until the assembly polls, the AIADMK especially and the PMK and possibly the infant TVK too would find it hard to sign up with the BJP, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
'If delimitation is not handled well by the Centre, the southern states are certainly going to challenge it.'
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday warned of "another language war" amid the ongoing Hindi imposition row, stating that the state is "ready" for it. He also expressed concerns about the potential loss of Lok Sabha seats due to the proposed delimitation process, which he believes will disadvantage states that have successfully implemented population control measures. Stalin has called for an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss the issue, urging unity across political lines to address the perceived threat to Tamil Nadu's representation in Parliament.
'The Dravidian movement was started for the Hindus who were rejected by the upper castes.'
'The Dravidian movement should have been explained to students using photographs of that era as they would be the best tool for this purpose and instead carrying a cartoon saying the Tamil student was not required to study Hindi and that he was ignorant towards English has hurt the sentiments of Tamil people,' Jayalalithaa said in a statement in Chennai
Locking horns with the Shiv Sena over the 'Mumbai for Marathis'' issue, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Wednesday said it has no takers in Maharashtra and dismissed reports that said the people of the South were ''anti-Hindi''.
Close on the heels of the Ambedkar cartoon row, a cartoon on the anti-Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu in the 1960s in a NCERT class XII text book has kicked up another controversy in the state, with key United Progressive Alliance ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam demanding its removal and other parties joining the chorus.
Sukanya Verma gives you some interesting options to choose from.
The recent 'revelation' by TN fishers freed by Sri Lanka after they had paid up Lankan rupees 50,000 each in fines, that their hair was tonsured in prison and they were forced to remove their garments other than the underpants, and were also made to clean toilets, as if with vengeance, has touched a raw nerve this time, just as another issue or issues had done it ahead of the Jallikattu protests, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'What is surprising is the scale and spontaneity of the mobilisation and the social profile of the mobilisation.' 'Not just the youth, but women, children and families are part of this now.' 'This is completely unprecedented.'
The ongoing protests over the use of the Hindi language during oath-taking ceremony by Nepal Vice President Parmananda Jha on Monday took a violent turn in Kathmandu when the protestors clashed with police leaving 10 people injured. Six students, three policemen and a youth were injured when agitating students and youths clashed with the police near Amrit Science College in Kathmandu as normal life in the city nearly came to standstill, according to a private television.
Already, there is a feeling even within the BJP's AIADMK ally that the BJP is overdoing things on the ED/I-T front, as corruption is not an election issue in the state -- as long as the people are otherwise not excessively unhappy with the governing party, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu is the celebrated home of the 'social justice' movement in the country, yet caste differences and violence has only been increasing in numbers and becoming more brutal in recent years, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Had it not been for the complicity of the state and Biren Singh's leadership, these riots would not have spread this far and for so long.'
Tamil Nadu's obsession for honorifics appears to be a never-ending story. The latest is the "Ezhuchi Nayagan" (rising leader) title for All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's new interim general secretary K Palaniswami, proposed by the party's presidium chairman Tamil Magan Hussain in Chennai on Monday.
The BJP seems wanting to return to a 'Tamil Hindutva' agenda for elections in Tamil Nadu, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
They just wanted their angst noticed, and as a symbol of recognition, Jallikattu, restored without the annual ritual of court cases and adjournments, explains N Sathya Moorthy.
'They have brought out a provision whereby the medium of education in the Hindi speaking states will be Hindi even in higher education institutions like IIT, IIM, etc.' 'Think about the students from the south who get admission in the IITs in Kanpur or Delhi or the IIMs in various places.'
Words and actions like those of R N Ravi and a vocal section of the state BJP have only added to Tamil fears and suspicions, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Don't try to impose anything on us.'
'The biggest agitation in Tamil Nadu -- after the anti-Hindi agitation in 1965 -- were the Jallikattu protests. The anti-Hindi agitations had the backing of a political party but this one does not. No famous actor is involved in it either. It was an incredible agitation.'
'In the hands of a majoritarian government, with utter contempt for the cultural plurality and diversity of our great nation, the pipe dream of making Hindi the sole official language takes on nightmarish proportions.'
'The BJP wants an AIADMK government so that they can implement their policies.' 'All the policies implemented in UP are being implemented in Tamil Nadu.'
The aftermath of Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan has led to an argument that there was no religion as Hinduism in Chola times.
Instead, there was only Saivism, Vaishnavism, etc, and that the Cholas were Saivites, and hence not Hindus, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Taking the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena head-on, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Sunday said that it has asked its volunteers to protect north Indians in Maharashtra and prevent the spread of anti-Hindi feelings. "The Sangh Parivar has asked its volunteers in Maharashtra to try and prevent the spread of anti-north Indian and anti-Hindi feelings," said RSS leader Ram Madhav.He said the RSS was opposed to discrimination on the basis of language.