Ravichandran Ashwin got into trouble by saying 'Hindi is not the national language of India'
Ravichandran Ashwin was in the news a lot after his retirement from international cricket but now he has become a topic of discussion because of one of his statements. Speaking at a private college event, the star cricketer made his comments on both his career and the status of Hindi in India but his statement on the Hindi language did not go down well with fans.
Addressing students during a college graduation ceremony, Ashwin said that Hindi is not the national language of India. Ashwin asked the students if anyone was interested in asking questions in Hindi if they were not proficient in English or Tamil, the crowd fell silent, after which the spinner said this. During this, Ashwin raised the issue of language in India. After asking students to acknowledge them based on language preference, they noticed a difference in responses when Hindi was mentioned.
Ashwin said, “I thought I should say this, Hindi is not our national language. It is an official language.”
During this, Ashwin shared that he never tried to become the captain, while many people had guessed that he would play this role. “When someone says I can't do it, I get up to do it, but if they say I can, I lose interest,” Ashwin said.
He also explained how his engineering background influenced his approach to challenges. He said, “If any engineering staff had told me that I could not become captain, I would have worked harder. If you are a student, you will never stop. If you are not, learning will stop and excellence will stop. It will become just a word in your wardrobe.”
The use of Hindi in Tamil Nadu is a sensitive issue due to the historical, cultural and political factors that have shaped the state's relationship with the language. In the 1930s and 1940s, there was considerable opposition in Tamil Nadu to the imposition of Hindi as a compulsory language in schools and government. The Dravidian movement, which sought to promote Tamil and assert the rights of Tamil speakers, played a central role in this protest. The movement saw the push for Hindi as an attempt by the central government to weaken the cultural identity and linguistic heritage of Tamil speakers. Dravidian political parties have long advocated the use of Tamil instead of Hindi. They argue that promoting Hindi at the expense of regional languages like Tamil will marginalize local identity.
Comments are closed.