Lyricist Vairamuthu on Friday said that Hindi cannot be a national language in a pluralistic India where several languages are spoken by its citizens.
Speaking as a special guest to mark the 132nd birth anniversary of Tamil poet Bharathidasan organised by Tamil Iyakkam, a literary arm of VIT in Vellore on Friday, he said the claim by a handful of north Indian artists that Hindi was the national language was incorrect because of the simple fact that the country was united by its vast diversity in terms of religion, caste, language and culture.
“Putting such ideas like Hindi as the national language in a public forum is no good. It not only angers us, the Tamils, but also Bengalis, Marathis, Telugus, Kannadigas and Keralites,” Mr. Vairamuthu said. Calling for the need to educate the poorest among the poor, G. Viswanathan, Founder-Chancellor, VIT, said that education was a tool to overall development of mankind. More importantly, women’s education helps in wholesome development of the family and in turn the society. “Education empowers women in every walk of her life,” he said.
