Priyanka Tiwari
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Suspense crime, Digital Desk : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has launched a scathing attack on the central government, accusing it of a "blatant bias" in its allocation of funds for the promotion of classical languages. He alleges that while the government pays lip service to protecting all Indian languages, its actions show a clear and overwhelming preference for Sanskrit.
In a strongly-worded statement, Stalin claimed the central government's talk of promoting languages like Tamil was nothing but "crocodile tears." He presented figures, reportedly obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) query, that paint a stark picture of financial disparity.
According to the data he cited, the central government has spent over ₹1,200 crore on the development and promotion of Sanskrit in the last decade. In stark contrast, the combined funding for all other designated classical languages—Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia—amounted to just ₹106 crore during the same period.
Stalin highlighted this enormous gap as a "betrayal" of the country's rich linguistic diversity. He argued that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi often speaks with pride about Tamil being the world's oldest language, his government's financial policies tell a different story.
This issue touches upon a deep-seated and sensitive political nerve in India, particularly in the southern states. The accusation of "Sanskrit imposition" and the perceived neglect of Dravidian languages have been central to the political ideology of Stalin's party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), for decades.
Stalin's sharp criticism challenges the central government's narrative of treating all regional languages equally and reignites the long-standing debate over cultural and linguistic priorities in a nation celebrated for its diversity.
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