Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which came into limelight for its anti-Hindi agitation in the 1960s, yesterday caught the attention of both supporters and critics when it posted a Hindi tweet on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Post Did. The one-line video with Hindi-captioned video of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin comes after his son Udhayanidhi’s inflammatory comments on Sanatana Dharma.
The post can be roughly translated as: “As long as women get this monthly grant, it means Stalin rules this land.”
Of course, its timing raises many questions. Is this an attempt to divert attention from the mess made by Udhayanidhi, or an attempt by the DMK to highlight what it considers to be a sharp statement by the CM? Stalin had made this comment while launching a popular social welfare scheme on CN Annadurai’s birthday on September 15.
Also read: Senior Stalin should ask Udhayanidhi to keep quiet. Although the ongoing controversy over this is just hypocrisy
What is Stalin’s motivation?
The Government of Tamil Nadu is publishing Hindi advertisements in widely read Hindi dailies. Moreover, DMK has started posting a lot of Hindi content on social media platforms like Facebook. Is this the party’s attempt to establish itself on the national stage by building closer ties with north-Indian states in case India comes to power? It clearly wants a share in key departments like during the tenure of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Does this mean that DMK will compromise on its popular anti-Hindi stance? This x post is of a CM, who once on the Hindi Day of 2019, on the statement of Home Minister Amit Shah that “Hindi is the most read and understood language in the country,” Stalin had retorted that “This is India , not Hindi”. And now, we see that his party is posting in Hindi and Tamil Nadu’s opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is surprisingly welcoming it. BJP is seeing this as a positive change. The party’s state vice president Narayanan Tirupathi told me that such a “change of heart is always welcome”.
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Stalin had accused the BJP of raising the Sanatan Dharma issue “to hide its failures and corruption” and diverting public attention from the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on the National Highway Authority of India. Udhayanidhi had said, “BJP is silent on the CAG report, which has revealed corruption worth Rs 7.5 lakh.”
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leaders like Kovai Satyan told me that the DMK’s sudden interest in posting in Hindi is a desperate attempt to divert attention from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids in the state. AIADMK mocks Stalin for releasing Malayalam greeting video for Keralites on Onam and says if he can post in Hindi, why can’t he wish North Indians on Ganesh Chaturthi or Diwali or Ram Navami?
There have been different reactions from ex-users on DMK’s Hindi post. Some have questioned the need for Hindi captions in Stalin’s video, while others have unearthed old photographs of Udhayanidhi, where he “Hindi Theriyathu Poda (I don’t know Hindi)” Was seen wearing a T-shirt with the slogan.
Whatever one’s view on DMK’s Hindi post, it marks a notable change in the party’s approach, which people in the Hindi heartland may welcome, but it remains to be seen whether Stalin and his party will continue to support Bengali, Oriya, Similar outreach will be done to Gujarati, Marathi and Assamese speakers.
(The author’s X handle is @RAJAGOPALAN1951. Views expressed are personal.)
(Editing: Falguni Sharma)
(Click here to read this article in English)
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