Tamil a sweet language; PM wants every language to get its due respect: Union Minister Vaishnaw
Chennai, Mar 15 (PTI): Hailing Tamil as a 'sweet' language, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said it is one of the assets of the country and the world.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi always ensured that every Indian language gets its due respect, the Union Railways, Information and Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology Minister said at an event near here.
Participating at the inauguration of a manufacturing factory of Zetwerk Electronics at Sriperumbudur, Vaishnaw said he was lucky as he got a professor by name Sadagopan while pursuing his academics at IIT Kanpur who taught him about the Tamil language.
Greeting the audience with a traditional 'Vanakkam' (Namaste) in Tamil language at the beginning of his speech, Vaishnaw said, "Tamil is a very very sweet language. All I know is three words -- Vanakkam, Eppadi Irukeenga (How are you) and Nandri (Thanks)."
Referring to his interaction with Sadagopan at IIT Kanpur, the Minister said, "Sadagopan introduced me to Tamil language and in North India, Tamil is generally known as masala dosa, right?. He taught me so many facets of Tamil culture.. It is a very, very deep culture, very ancient culture. We all respect Tamil culture and we all respect the Tamil language."
"This is one of our assets of our country and this is also one of the assets of the world and lets take pride in that. Let's take joy in that and let's enjoy all the Indian languages. And that is the spirit with which our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is working today making sure that every Indian language gets its big place under the Sun and make sure they get the respect which is due to them, make sure that they get the exposure," he said.
Citing an example, Vaishnaw said, "I will tell you one small thing. In the Telecom and Data Protection Laws, our Prime Minister inspired us and asked why should the Notice be only in English and why not in all Indian languages. So, taking inspiration from him, in the Law itself we have said all the languages in the Constitution must be available as a choice to the users. That is the thought process of our leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi. So, let's get above this and let's make sure that these things which sometimes come in the way of friendship and relationship between different civilisations, between different people and between our own brothers and sisters, those barriers should not come.
"We should all look at one big goal of making our country very very strong, making sure that we become the third largest economy. Thank you very much, rombha rombha nandri (Many Many thanks)" he said before concluding his address.
His comments come amid the ongoing language row in Tamil Nadu, where the ruling DMK has alleged imposition of Hindi by the Centre through the National Education Policy.
The union government has denied any such imposition.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
