Chennai: Press Council chairman and former SC judge Justice Markandey Katju has, in a recent Facebook post, appealed to all Tamils to learn Hindi.
“I don’t mean this in the spirit of an imposition. But Hindi has developed as the link language of India. When Tamilians go out of Tamil Nadu they face problems since they do not know Hindi. So for purely practical reasons, Tamilians should learn Hindi,” Katju said.
The former judge said that he was only giving reasons for all Indians to learn Hindi (without giving up their mother tongue).
“If my reasoning appeals to you, learn Hindi. I am not saying that Hindi is superior to Tamil. Tamil is a great language, with a very rich literature. I regard all languages as equal. But the fact is that Hindi is known by many more people in India, and even abroad, than Tamil, and it has already developed as the link language of India. So it is in the interest of Tamilians and other non Hindi speakers to learn Hindi.”
Senior advocate P. Rathinam said, “Justice Katju is raking up unnecessary issues. Katju, who did a diploma course in Tamil at Annamalai University, knows very well the significance of the Tamil language.”
Further, he states that society has been facing several pressing issues. “Corruption has been taking its toll on people. There is no need for Tamils to learn Hindi in Tamil Nadu. The state has more than 1.5 lakh migrant workers from Bihar and other neighbouring states. They come here without learning Tamil. But over the years, they learn the language. Similarly, Tamils who migrate to other states in the country will do so too,” according to Rathinam.
