Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 3 December 2024 shared her personal experience of facing ridicule for attempting to learn Hindi during her student days in Tamil Nadu. Speaking in the Lok Sabha during her reply to the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, Sitharaman digressed on the issue of language while responding to remarks from Opposition members targeting her Hindi.
The minister recounted how, as a student, her decision to learn Hindi and Sanskrit was met with derision in the southern state. “I speak from my lived experience in Tamil Nadu when even going to learn Hindi, aside from my school, I was mocked on the streets. And I was mocked saying – oh, you want to learn Hindi. You live in Tamil Nadu… and you want to learn Hindi, that North India’s bhasha (language). These are the words ringing in my ears,” she said.
Lamenting the stigma associated with Hindi in Tamil Nadu, Sitharaman said, “Learning Hindi and Sanskrit are perceived as learning some other foreign language. Is Tamil Nadu not part of India? So what’s wrong in my learning Hindi?”
Sitharaman, who was born in Madurai, revealed she was called “vandheri” (a Tamil term that loosely translates to “outsider” with a negative connotation) for her efforts to learn the language. “They called us vandheri. Is it not part of a political strategy there?” she wondered aloud.
The Finance Minister argued that she had been denied her “fundamental right” to learn the language of her choice. “I have lived the experience of Tamil Nadu imposing on me not to learn Hindi. Is that not imposition on me?” she questioned. She further added, “It’s alright to say we don’t want imposition of Hindi. We don’t want to impose Hindi, but why did they impose on me not to learn Hindi? I want to ask this.”
In a bid to highlight the respect given to regional languages under the current administration, Sitharaman praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his efforts to promote Tamil on the global stage. “Tell me one prime minister who has taken Tamil to the UN… Narendra Modi. Tell me one PM who quotes Tamil repeatedly… because he respects that language. Tell me one PM with whom DMK has been in alliance with, where the PM quoted Tamil. That is the respect we give to the sentiments of all of us Tamils,” she said.
Finance Minister #NirmalaSitharaman lost her cool in the #Parliament after the opposition made fun of her #Hindi speaking skills. Watch here 👇https://t.co/FkvsKiKG2z pic.twitter.com/nbDa3JfNzK
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) December 4, 2024
(With inputs from DT Next)
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