Stalin: 2-Language Policy Achievement of Dravidian Movement
Stalin recalled Annadurai’s contribution to underscore the historical mandate behind the state’s language stance
CHENNAI: DMK chief M.K. Stalin on Monday said the two-language policy was the foundational achievement of the Dravidian movement, and a legacy of the late chief minister C.N. Annadurai.
Speaking at a self-respect wedding ceremony here, Stalin recalled Annadurai’s contribution to underscore the historical mandate behind the state’s language stance - to prioritise Tamil and English, while rejecting the imposition of the three-language formula.
“When Anna assumed office as chief minister for the first time in 1967 and entered the Assembly, he fulfilled three pearl-like schemes for our Tamil Nadu. One is the two-language policy, another is the event of naming the state as Tamil Nadu, and next is the law validating self-respect marriages,” Stalin pointed out.
Stalin noted that self-respect marriages, which dispense with traditional religious rites and are, instead, conducted under the principles of the Thirukkural, gained their vital legal sanction only through Annadurai’s legislative interventions.
Going further, the DMK chief advised the couple to exclusively choose “beautiful Tamil names” for their children, urging them to live as “lights to the household and servants to the nation” as revolutionary poet Bharathidasan envisioned.