‘Tamil is not just a language but an identity and a matter of self-respect that connects us with ourselves and our leaders’
‘Tamil is not just a language but an identity and a matter of self-respect that connects us with ourselves and our leaders’
Terming certain official languages as ‘national’ cannot be accepted by all people, so the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and of other States opposed the suggestion of a parliamentary committee that Hindi be used as the medium of instruction for higher education across the country, DMK deputy general secretary and Thoothukudi MP K. Kanimozhi said on Wednesday.
Speaking at Youth Leadership Summit 2022 organised by ICT Academy at Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology here, she said, “All languages in the country must be given an equal status, but valuing some of them more and deeming some official languages to be ‘national’ cannot be accepted by people. So, it was not only the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister but also those of many other States raised their voice against it.”
Ms. Kanimozhi said Tamil is not just a language but an identity and a matter of self-respect that “connects us with ourselves and our leaders. Nobody can impose any other language [on us]. Nothing should touch our identity.”
She asked students to develop communication skills and reinvent and “re-understand” what the world was telling them by listening keenly. She also urged them to strive for an inclusive world where “it is everyone’s right to opine, debate and develop”.
Pollachi MP K. Shanmugasundaram; chairperson and managing trustee of Sri Krishna Institutions S. Malarvizhi; trustee K. Adithya, ICT Academy CEO Hari Balachandran; J. Janet, principal, Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology; Singer Dhee; and several others took part at the event.
