CHENNAI: Early on Wednesday, women in Ayapakkam Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) colony gathered outside their homes to draw intricate kolams. What was unusual was the kolams, traditionally drawn for prosperity and cultural identity, were a silent protest against Hindi imposition through the three-language policy.
After photos of the kolams went viral on social media, DMK president and chief minister M K Stalin posted a poem in Tamil by Bharathidasan, celebrating the beauty of the language and opposing Hindi imposition.
The renewed debate over Hindi imposition was triggered after Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the Centre would not release more than ₹2,000 crore for the Samagra Shiksha Mission to Tamil Nadu unless the state adopted the National Education Policy.
On Wednesday, 500 members of the Ayapakkam Panchayat Level Women Federation, led by president H Shenbagavalli, organised the kolam protest. "We used kolam as a medium to express our demands and grievances," she said. Federation member A Thenmozhi emphasised the long-standing independence and social awareness of women in Tamil Nadu. "We do not need Hindi to prove our capabilities," Thenmozhi said.
Presidency College students also protested outside their college campus against opposing "Hindi imposition through the three-language policy". They shouted slogans against the BJP govt at the Centre.
State Platform for the Common School System general-secretary Prince Gajendra Babu criticised the policy, saying "In Germany, France, and Ireland, children learn only one language -- their mother tongue. A second language like English is learned for practical needs. Forcing a third language is an unnecessary burden on children. Instead, they should be taught skills or sports in which they can excel."
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