Changing times in Tamil Nadu's politics: Hindi enters the political arena once again

by Guest Wed Feb 19, 2014 2:29 pm

These are all changing times in Tamil Nadu's politics.

A state, which saw massive and rabid anti-Hindi agitations, is now giving birth to a political party that openly says Hindi should be taught in government schools up to the fifth standard.

R.C. Paul Kanagaraj (49), president, Madras High Court Advocates' Association, and founder president of Tamil Maanila Katchi, a new political outfit, also said his party will fight for bringing an end to the "discrimination" of Brahmins in Tamil Nadu's political and social life.

"As a father, I am feeling the pinch of not only my ignorance of Hindi but also the loss of my son not knowing the national language. Not knowing Hindi is creating huge impediments in my son's developments. This is the reason for me to think and start a political party with like minded people in this direction. We will fight for the state government to make Hindi a compulsory subject at least up to Class V," Kanagaraj told Indiatoday.in.

He said by shunning Hindi and adopting two-language formula of Tamil and English has taken away opportunities for Tamil Nadu students.

"If I go to any other part of the country, people understand Hindi. Whatever may be their mother tongue, Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi or Bengali - they can converse with each other because they knew Hindi. But we Tamilians are solely dependent on English and since many of those coming from the rest of India are not able to speak English, it has become increasingly difficult to share our feelings and thoughts. We feel the pinch," said Kanagaraj.

Another objective of the new outfit is end "discrimination" against Brahmins.

"There is a deep-seated animosity prevailing against Brahmins in Tamil Nadu. They are sidelined and wounded in the state's social life. Openly, political parties accuse them and curse them in public rallies. These parties are using the age-old divide and rule policy by raking up Aryan-Dravidian theories though these became outdated long ago. We want to create an atmosphere where our Brahmin brothers too feel they are not being looked upon with prejudiced eyes."

Kanagaraj was a member of the DMK till February 2009. He quit the party after a clash between lawyers and police on February 19, 2009, at Madras High Court.

The clashes left several lawyers with injuries and even a sitting judge was subjected to police lathi-charge.

Later, Kanagaraj joined the AIADMK and was active in the party's lawyers' wing. But he was expelled from the AIADMK after he allegedly created a ruckus in the DGP's office in connection with an issue related to a tussle between lawyers and police.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/chennai-lawyer-launches-pro-hindi-pro-brahmin-party/1/344381.html