As Dravida Munnetra Kazgam MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi stood in front of international journalists this week, there was a simple question with immense political imports: What is the national language of India?
“The national language of India,” he said, “is unity in diversity. This is the message that brings this delegation to the world, and this is the most important thing today.”
Thousands of kilometers from New Delhi, this comment weighs the weight of a long -lasting linguistic dispute. The National Education Policy 2020 recommends a “three-language formula”, which encourages students across the country to learn Hindi, English and a regional language. While the policy does not make Hindi compulsory, critics argue that in practice, it gives privileges to Hindi speaking states and sidelines others.
#Watch Madrid, Spain: Addressing the Indian Diaspora, DMK MP Kanimozhi said, “India’s national language is unity and diversity. This is the message that brings this delegation to the world, and this is the most important thing today …” pic.twitter.com/cvbra99wk3
– Annie (@ani) June 2, 2025
Linguistic debate
In recent years, DMK has become a major voice, which sees that it sees the central government as an effort to implement Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states. For Tamil Nadu, Hindi dominance in Tamil language runs deep with a decades -old tradition of opposing pride. The IS issue, therefore, is cultural, political and personal. DMK has rejected the Center’s approach, calling it a threat to federalism and regional autonomy.
Language debate again erupted when the Federal Education Ministry described Hindi as a potential “link language” for the country-pushing faster reactions from the leaders who accused the government of pushing the “Hindi-Hindutwa” agenda under the banner of educational reforms.
Even when these disagreements come to the fore, the delegation of India’s political spectrum – the leaders – are visiting Europe as part of a major outreach initiative. Kanimozhi, a senior leader in the Tamil Nadu ruling DMK, is part of a rare all-party delegation going to several European countries focusing on strengthening international cooperation on terrorism.
In the coming weeks, seven teams will visit 33 global capitals, which shares India’s cross-party stance on terrorism and regional security. Along with Kanimozhi, the group consists of BJP, Samajwadi Party, Aam Aadmi Party, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, and Rashtra Janata Dal, as well as politicians of two former diplomats.
Policy (T) Kanimozhi Federal Language Debate (T) Kanimozhi European Delegation Language (T) Kanimozhi All-party delegation Spain (T) Kanimozhi Interview National Language (T) Kanimozhi India Language (T) Kanimozhi kanimozhi dominance Nadu language issue (T)
