‘This House refuses to accept the Union government’s Hindi language policy. By refusing to implement the Centre’s language policy and respecting the views of the Tamil people, including students, this House resolves to do away with the three-language formula, include Tamil and English and remove Hindi completely in all the schools in Tamil Nadu.
— Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister CN Annadurai.
The language revolution of 1965 did not achieve complete success in eliminating Hindi, but the movement against Hindi’s dominance had a great impact in Tamil Nadu. Supporters of Hindi were described as frauds and equated with Vibhishana, Ravana’s brother who defected to Rama’s side and opponents of Hindi were respected as idealists and as brave, self-respecting soldiers and protectors of Tamil. This public mood was the reason for the DMK alliance’s historic victory in the 1967 election. In the general election of 1957, the DMK had won 15 seats with a vote share of 12.8 per cent. In 1962, it won 50 seats with a vote share of 27.1 per cent. In the general election of 1967 that was conducted within two years of the language revolution of 1965, the DMK won 138 seats with a vote share of 41.21 per cent. Congress was routed and lost power.
The DMK formed the government and Arignar Anna assumed office as Chief Minister. Tamils were overjoyed; as the revolutionary poet Bharathidasan said: “Only a Tamil who has researched Tamil should become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.”
That was the beginning of a new history and a golden age. The defeat of the Congress in Tamil Nadu in the general election of 1967 stunned nationalists, because the party was known for its belief, bordering on arrogance, that it was invincible. So much so that Kamaraj had declared that he could win lying down. Rajaji’s repartee was: “No doubt you’d lie down, but you can’t win.” The Congress’ hopes tumbled like a house of cards.
The DMK, which rode to power on the anti-Hindi and pro-Tamil wave of 1965, enacted laws and implemented plans encouraging the movement against the imposition of Hindi and initiatives to protect and develop Tamil. On the Tamil Nadu government’s emblem, the words “Satyameva Jayate” were replaced with their pure Tamil equivalent, “Vaaimaiye Vellum”. “State Secretariat” became “Thalaimai Seyalagam”. Parry’s Corner became Paari Munai. Kellys, a Chennai locality, became Killiyur. “Express Bus” became “Viraivu Vandi”.
The Second World Tamil Conference was held with a lot of fanfare, taking the entire country by surprise. A postage stamp honouring Thiruvalluvar was released on the occasion. Statues of great Tamil writers and poets were erected on the Marina. Verses from Tirukkural were painted inside State Transport Corporation buses. The Anna government introduced the practice of reading out one Tirukkural every day to mark the beginning of the State Assembly’s proceedings. It encouraged the principle of making Tamil omnipresent in Tamil social life with the slogan “Engum Tamil, Edhilum Tamil” (Tamil Everywhere, Tamil in Everything). Above all, the State’s name was changed from Madras State to Tamil Nadu (Tamil country), which was considered the crowning of Tamil nationalism.
The Indian government was forced to amend the Official Languages Act, 1963, as a result of the success of the anti-Hindi movement in Tamil Nadu, the DMK’s rise to power, and the rapid spread of anti-Hindi feelings among the non-Hindi-speaking people in other states. Fearing loss of support among non-Hindispeaking people and worsening of the situation unless it amended the Act to ensure the continuance of English as the official language, the government introduced a Bill seeking to amend the Act of Parliament on November 27, 1967.
Hindi fanatics opposed the Bill, arguing that they did not have the power to amend the Act in such a way as to ensure the continuance of English as an official language and that such a move was unconstitutional.
Speaking on behalf of the DMK, Nanjil K Manoharan said, “The government has the power to make that amendment. I want to make it clear that as far as the DMK is concerned, it will not accept any legal measure other than a constitutional amendment in this regard.” Home Minister YB Chavan replied saying that the introduction of the Bill was just and legal, because it was not a new Bill, but one seeking to amend an earlier Act. The Hindi fanatics in the House did not relent and demanded a division. The Bill received 181 favourable votes and 25 opposing votes. Among those who voted against it were MM Joshi (Jana Sangh) and Madhu Limaye (Socialist Party).
The parliamentary debate on the Bill began on December 7, 1967. The Hindi fanatics opposed the Bill, arguing that it was unnecessary to allow English to continue as the official language, that it would harm national unity, and that everyone should accept Hindi as the official language as it was recognised as such by the Constitution. The members from non-Hindi-speaking regions welcomed the amendment. The Congress members spoke in favour of the Bill in line with the party’s whip to maintain organisational discipline. Although Communist leaders such as SA Dange supported the Bill, they spoke strongly against English. The DMK was the only defender of the interests of non-Hindi-speaking people. Its members made forceful speeches with evidence.
Supporting the Bill, AK Sen made a nuanced point: “The Constitutional provision on the official language says Hindi in Nagari script is the official language. It uses the word ‘shall’. Had the word “is” been used instead of the word ‘shall’ an amendment of this type could not have been made. The word ‘shall’ has been used, implying that there can be a change in the Official Language Act in future.” As soon he said this, the Hindi fanatics raised a hue and cry.
In his speech, Acharya Kripalani strongly criticised the supporters of Hindi and English equally. He said Hindi supporters were enacting a deceptive drama in the language issue and that they spoke frenziedly in this House. He accused them of enrolling their children in English medium schools.
Many said at the time that English had developed as a national language like all other Indian languages. Communist Party of India leader, SA Dange, argued against including Sanskrit in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. He said: “Why was Sanskrit, which was not spoken in any part in India, and not even by a large part of the intelligentsia, added in the Schedule? Was it for your communication with God? Communication with God in this country is carried on in other languages as well, in English in the Bible, in Arabic in the Quran, in Sanskrit in the Gita, and the Gita reader does not understand the Sanskrit of the Gita at all. Then why was it incorporated? Because that is an expression of the Hinduism that dominates the framers of the Constitution.”
The debate continued for three days. Although many members took part in it, it was K Anbazhagan, Leader of the DMK Parliamentary Party, who spoke at length on the issue, giving a satisfactory explanation of his position. He said: “Hindi is the common language of North India. It is not the common language of South India. I do not want to be cowed down before Hindi imperialism in any shape or form. I want to make people understand this: whatever is the position of Hindi in this country, the same position should be given to our language, Tamil. As my friends from other linguistic regions would agree, Bengali, Marathi and all the regional languages should get equal opportunity and parity in this country. I suggest our language(s) should become the official language of this country right up to the Centre. Till then, the Hindi people should wait. If they want to take us with them, if they want to create confidence in us, if they feel that all belong to the same Bharat Mata, if our blood is the same as theirs, if our aim is the same, they should wait and accommodate us. You accommodate Tamil also with Hindi, you accommodate Telugu. You accommodate Kannada, you accommodate every other regional language which will play the role of official language.” His speech took the House by storm.
Excerpted with permission from Hindi Imperialism, Aladi Aruna, translated from the Tamil by R Vijaya Sankar, Speaking Tiger Books.
