DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday hailed the "Language Martyrs" of the state who sacrificed their lives during the anti-Hindi agitation
in the past and asserted that there was "no place" for the language here forever. Paying tributes on the occasion of Language Martyrs Day, he said, "a state that loved its language like its life, unitedly struggled against Hindi imposition; protested with the same intensity every time it was imposed." "Language Martyrs Day; there is no place for Hindi then, now and forever (in TN)," the Dravidian party chief said in a social media post.
மொழிப்போர்த் தியாகிகள் வீரவணக்க நாள்: அன்றும் இன்றும் என்றும் இந்திக்கு இங்கே இடமில்லை!
— M.K.Stalin - தமிழ்நாட்டை தலைகுனிய விடமாட்டேன் (@mkstalin) January 25, 2026
மொழியை உயிராய் நேசிக்கும் ஒரு மாநிலம், இந்தித் திணிப்புக்கு எதிராக ஒன்றுதிரண்டு போராடியது. திணித்த ஒவ்வொரு முறையும் அதே வீரியத்தோடு போராடியது.
இந்தியத் துணைக் கண்டத்திலுள்ள பல்வேறு மொழிவழித்… pic.twitter.com/EmVm1TqTXy
He shared a brief video of the history related to the anti-Hindi agitation, which peaked during 1965, that included references to the 'martyrs,' besides the contributions of late DMK stalwarts, CN Annadurai and M Karunanidhi in the language issue.
Tamil Nadu, by leading the anti-Hindi agitation, "safeguarded the right and identity of various linguistic national races in the sub-continent," Stalin added.
வீரவணக்கம், வீரவணக்கம்! மொழிப்போர்த் தியாகிகளுக்கு வீரவணக்கம்!
— M.K.Stalin - தமிழ்நாட்டை தலைகுனிய விடமாட்டேன் (@mkstalin) January 25, 2026
1938-ஆம் ஆண்டு மொழிப்போர்க் களத்தின் முதற்கட்டத்தில் உயிர்த்தியாகம் செய்த நடராசன் - தாளமுத்து ஆகியோருக்கு மூலக்கொத்தளத்தில் அமைந்துள்ள அவர்களது நினைவிடத்தில் வீரவணக்கம் செலுத்தினேன். மொழிப்போர் வீராங்கனை அன்னை… pic.twitter.com/LO9weBKFIt
"I pay my grateful respects to those martyrs who gave their precious lives for Tamil. No more life will be lost in the language war; our love for Tamil will never die! We shall oppose Hindi imposition forever. #LanguageMartyrsDay #StopHindiImposition," the CM said.
Language Martyrs is a reference to those who had sacrificed their lives, mainly by self-immolation, during the anti-Hindi agitation across Tamil Nadu in 1964-65.
Till this day, the southern state follows the Two Language formula--Tamil and English, even as the DMK has been alleging Hindi imposition through the Centre's NEP 2020.
'Will not oppose, if...'
Last year in February, Stalin had said that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will not oppose Hindi if it is not "imposed" on Tamil Nadu and forcing the language on Tamils amounts to playing with their self-respect.
In a letter to partymen on the issue of alleged Hindi imposition, Stalin had said self-respect was Tamils' 'unique' nature.
"For those asking why DMK still opposes Hindi, my humble response to them as one among you is -- because you still impose it on us," news agency PTI quoted Stalin as saying.
"We won't oppose if you don't impose; won't blacken Hindi words in Tamil Nadu. Self-respect is Tamils' unique charecteristic and we will not allow anyone, whoever it is, to play with it," he asserted.
Stalin's remarks came amidst an intense language row in the state, with the DMK alleging that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre was trying to impose Hindi through the the three-language formula in the National Education Policy (NEP), a charge denied by the union government.
