Tamil Nadu Minister Labelled Hindi As The Language Of Those Selling 'Pani Puri'

On Friday, Tamil Nadu's Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy added to the bitter language debate by labelling Hindi as the language of those selling 'pani puri.'

Mr Ponmudy remarked at a university convocation when he raised the question that if people would get job if they learn Hindi and answering to his own question, he mentioned that people learning Hindi in Coimbatore are running pani puri shops.

He added that english is now considered a worldwide language. They should have their own system in Tamil Nadu. Tamil is the local language in Tamil Nadu, whereas English is the international language.

He stated that since there is unity in diversity, there exist many civilizations and languages. They should adopt their own educational system in Tamil Nadu. In the New Education Policy, they also follow a few new beneficial policies and they are ready to follow it.

The minister reiterated the ruling DMK's opposition to Hindi "imposition," saying that the state government will stick to its two-language policy and denounce any attempts at purported Hindi imposition.

Mr Ponmudy said he utilised the opportunity to express Tamil Nadu's feelings on the language problem, which the Governor will transmit to the Centre. He noted that students in the state were free to learn whichever language they wanted and had no prejudices against other languages, including Hindi.

Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi, who was also there as the Chancellor of Bharathiar University that there is no possibility of imposition of Hindi or any other language on anyone. He also dismissed claims that Hindi was being forced upon the state's population.

Meanwhile, the remarks come amid a long-running dispute in India about the priority of languages, with popular figures such as Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar advocating for Hindi despite strong opposition from non-Hindi speaking areas.