DMK chief MK Stalin urges PM Modi to make Tamil an official language

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief MK Stalin on Tuesday, called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take all necessary steps to make Tamil as one of the official languages of India. According to him, as PM Modi had himself described Tamil as "one of the most ancient living languages", it was the responsibility of the Centre to recognize the language. In a statement, he appealed to the government to make it an official language in the Madras High Court as well.  

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'Already an official language'

Stalin stated that the Tamil people had "huge expectations" from PM Modi. He also pointed out the fact that it was already an official language in many other countries.

He said, "We are glad to see that Modi has been praising the depth of Tamil language at various forums and quoting Tamil poems. I would like to draw the Prime Minister's attention as Tamil is already an official language in many countries."

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PM Modi quotes Tamil

During his visit to the United States of America, PM Modi spoke a few lines in Tamil. At the United Nations General Assembly, he had quoted the ancient Tamil philosopher Kaniyan Pungundranar’s line “Yaadhum Oore Yaavarum Kelir", which implies “we belong to all places and to everyone”. After landing in India, he said that Tamil echoed in the entire US following his remarks in the language. Also, the PM frequently spoke in other languages in the course of his address at the ‘Howdy, Modi! Shared Dreams, Bright Futures’ community event in Houston. 

It was speculated that this was a conscious attempt to contain the anger that erupted over Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s “Hindi is the only unifying language” comments. While the DMK was planning a demonstration on September 20 to condemn the attempted imposition of Hindi, it postponed the same as the Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit managed to convince Stalin that Shah had already issued a clarification in this regard. 

Read: MK Stalin Slams Amit Shah For 'One Nation, One Language' Speech

(With ANI inputs)