Stalin accuses TVK government of Hindi imposition; two highway engineers suspended

THOOTHUKUDI: A fresh language row erupted in Tamil Nadu on Friday after signposts in Hindi appeared along the Sathankulam–Nazareth state highway in Thoothukudi district — a direct violation of the state's two-language policy of Tamil and English. Images of the newly installed signboards, carrying place names in Hindi alongside Tamil and English, surfaced on social media and drew swift condemnation. Former chief minister and DMK chief M.K. Stalin accused the TVK government of attempting to impose Hindi in the state and warned it against tampering with the two-language policy. "So far, Tamil Nadu has been facing the Union government's imposition of Hindi. Now, it seems the state government itself is taking up that role, which appears to be the change they had promised," Stalin wrote on X. He questioned whether the episode was "yet another attempt by the TVK government to first test the waters in everything and then take a U-turn once opposition emerges." "I warn the TVK government, which is running a 'reels government' for North Indian influencers, to understand the dangers of this and immediately change its approach," Stalin said. "The two-language policy is Tamil Nadu's lifeline. Do not play with it!" Within hours of Stalin's attack, the government acted. An assistant executive engineer and an assistant engineer of the highways department — held responsible for including Hindi on the signposts — were suspended on Friday. Authorities said departmental action was also being taken against them, and new signboards without Hindi were installed. The action followed demands from the opposition DMK and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) for strict measures against those responsible. Tamil Nadu has upheld the two-language policy of Tamil and English since a 1968 resolution of the state Legislative Assembly, and has consistently opposed the three-language formula under the National Education Policy. The TVK government itself had earlier stated it would continue the existing two-language policy. But the episode has left an uncomfortable question unanswered: how did Hindi get onto a state highway sign in the first place? The suspension of two engineers closes the file administratively, but opposition parties suspect what Stalin alleged — a trial balloon to see how much Hindi Tamil Nadu will swallow, deflated only because someone shouted in time. For a young government already battling perceptions of inexperience — from the Karur stampede to the cash-for-votes allegations in the October 6 bypolls — a language row touching Tamil Nadu's most sensitive nerve is the last controversy it needed.