RSYF to commemorate 50 years of struggle against hindi imposition

Dear students, scholars, and democratic organizations,

Students across Tamilnadu came out in a massive protest against the imposition of Hindi on 25^th January-1965. And we are in the 50^th anniversary of this valiant struggle! Yet, the situation has only worsened far gravely across the country, and the Hindutva forces, with their fascist imposition of brahminical ideologies, have become a threat to our very existence as self-respecting and equal humans. If not now, we will never be able to liberate ourselves from the Hindutva forces. Let us all unite to wage a ceaseless war against the imposition of brahminical culture, hindutva ideologies, Hindi and Sanskrit!

Dear friends, it is a historical truth that the Brahminical forces across different parties and groups have always stood together for their dream of ‘Hindu nation’. Hardly within 10 days after he became the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency, Rajagopalachari declared on 15^th July-1937 that the entire Indian population must learn Sanskrit, and they must learn Hindi first as a preparation. Sathyamoorthy, the then Congress president stated in public that the entire Indian population must learn Sanskrit for preserving the Varna system that justified untouchability and for creating a Hindu nation/’Rama Rajiya’.

As he announced, the Brahminical Rajaji made Hindi a compulsory subject in the schools allover the Madras Presidency. Periyar E.V. Ramasamy urged all the Tamil scholars to unite for a massive joint action against the imposition of brahminical values through the imposition of Hindi and Sanskrit. Tamil scholars and leaders like Somasundara Bharathi, Periyar and K.A.P.Visvanatam launched wide scale protests in front of the schools that taught Hindi and blockaded the ministers.

The protests spread fierily throughout the Tamil region centering the cities like Madras and Trichy. The Rajaji Government on the other hand unleashed violent crack downs upon the protesters. It arrested hundreds of protesters including women and children for blocking the roads in Madras in 1938 and lodged them all in prisons. Among them, Natarajan died in the prison on 15^th January 1939, becoming the first valiant martyr to sacrifice his life against the imposition of Hindi. Following Natarajan, Thalamuthu sacrificed his life in prison on 12^th March 1939. With the protests becoming vibrant, the Government conceded soon and withdrew the imposition of Hindi as a compulsory subject in the Madras Presidency. Yes, the protesters, with the martyrdom of Natarajan and Thalamuthu, won their battle against the imposition of Hindi coupled with brahminical hindutwa ideologies.

Though the brahminical forces withdrew the imposition of Hindi for the time being, they never abandoned their malicious plan. The governments continuously indulged in imposing Hindi and Sanskrit in manifold ways. So also grew stronger and stronger the protests against such impositions!

On 24^th January 1964, a youth named Chinnasamy of Trichy Keezhapazhavur immolated himself proclaiming “Down with Hindi! Long live Tamil!”. “The lion burned to bones for the long life of Tamil!” was the sacrifice note he left! Chinnasamy was the first martyr to sacrifice his life by self-immolation. The protest he began spread on a massive stature among the students of Tamilnadu an year later in 1965.

The movements against Hindi so far led by Periyar and Tamil scholars became a mass movement across Tamilnadu led by the students since January-1965. The Central Government decided to make Hindi as the only official language of India since 26^th January 1965. The students of Tamilnadu began their unrelenting struggle against the imposition of Hindi and declared 26^th January 1965 as a ‘Black Day’. The entire country was rattled by the students’ struggle in Tamilnadu for the next 55 days. Taking their cue from Tamilnadu, students of nearby South Indian states also began their protests against the imposition of Hindi as the only official language and as a compulsory subject in educational institutions. The Government was shaken from its very base with the proliferation of this vibrant anti-Hindi movement across several Indian states led by the students.

Room Number 80 of Pachaiyappas College-Chennai was assured a permanent place in the history, for it was in this room that the students across various colleges in Chennai gathered and worked out plans for launching their audacious war against the imposition of Hindi. Students of different colleges and backgrounds in Madurai also gathered and prepared themselves for a large scale demonstration.

The students held a grand rally against the Hindi imposition on 25^th January-1965. The goondas of Congress attacked the marching students with the help of police. Thus this rally became the beginning of the stormy anti-Hindi agitations that shook the nation. After the disruptions in the students’ rally at Madurai, the protest got further vibrant in the cities like Chennai, Tirunelveli, Coimbatore and Trichy. Not just the students of Art and science, engineering and law colleges adventured in the protests, students of Medical Colleges, Madras University and Annamalai University also joined and stood united till the end.

As students went in processions, blocked the trains, sieged the post office and other Central Government offices, blocked the roads, and clashed with the police, army and police opened fire on the students, and the entire state wore a war-field look. Rajendran, a student of Annamalai University, happened to be the first person to be killed of police firing. He was followed by Chennai Virugambakkam Sivalingam, Kodambakam Aranganathan and more than 500 students, adding to the long list of martyrs for asserting the linguistic right of Tamils and against the imposition of Hindi as the only official language across India.

As the Government attempted to curb the protests by declaring indefinite closure of colleges and universities, the school students across Tamilnadu took the protest in their hand and spread it more intensely in the streets, villages and schools. Whatever the Central and state Governments did to stop the agitations, nothing worked out until they withdrew the imposition of Hindi! Thus the 55 days long battle launched by the students became victorious thereby ensuring the rights of diverse languages and nationalities. The courage, bravery even at the verge of death and willingness to sacrifice their very life for the rights and Self-Respect of the people have been trumpeting the students’ dedication to their mother tongue and nationality. But, the brahminical gang has presently begun an unchecked rampage of more fascist kind against the indigenous languages, cultures, religions and oppressed castes. Can we afford to remain silent anymore?

Friends, we must be clear that imposition of Hindi or Sanskrit is not an issue about ‘just languages’. Through Hindi and Sanskrit, what is imposed is Hindutwa ideologies and brahminical values! Imposition of Hindi has always been carried out as a necessary preparation for the imposition of Sanskrit allover India. Beginning in 1937, from Rajaji to paktavaccalam to Modi at present, all have vividly expressed their brahminical plan of Sanskritisising the Indian State. Though this gang had to retreat time and again, it is desperately trying to fulfill its brahminical/safronist dream of Hindu India through legal sanctions, with the comfort of its rule in the country led by BJP. The compulsory usage of Hindi by Government officials and Ministers in social networks, the ‘Sanskrit week’ celebrations in CBSC schools, imposition of Hindi as a compulsory subject in the universities, announcement of Guru Utsav on teachers’ day, attempts towards saffronizing the entire education system and the indoctrination of Puranic and Vedic filths through education and syllabi are only a few havocs the saffronist gang has done after Modi assumed power. These stealthy acts towards the imposition of Hindi and Sanskrit cannot be reduced to mere language related issues. These are significant attempts towards eradicating the linguistic, cultural and ideological distinctness/identities of different nationalities living in the Indian subcontinent. By destroying the language and culture of different nationalities, the RSS/BJP/Hindutwa forces desire to construct a ‘broad Hindu nation’ with the fascist moto of ‘single nation, single language and single culture’!

Rather calling Sanskrit a ‘language’, it would sound more fitting to call it as ‘the murderous weapon of Hinduism’. This language has always been the tool of the ruling class to segregate and oppress the people. Sanskrit language and the brahminical culture it represents are filled with conservative values, superstitious beliefs, Puranic and Vedic stories of filthy nature, and The Bhagavad Gita that justifies and preserves the Varna/caste system, untouchability, mass killings and discrimination.

The non-Vedic, anti-brahminical, anti—Hindi, anti-Sanskrit and rationalist tradition of Tamil nationality has always been a major threat to the brahminical Hindutwa forces. Tamil language and its culture have retained their uniqueness withstanding so much of oppression and impositions from these forces. Including Tamil, there are several languages ancient in time, rich in literatures and grammars and alive even today among the people.

While 22 languages have been included in the Indian constitution as major languages of India, the imposition of Hindi and Sanskrit is an apparent act of fascist discrimination! While Sanskrit stood for oppression and discrimination, Tamil and several other languages and cultures have stood for equality, rationalism and Self-Respect. On the occasion of the 50^th anniversary of Tamil students’ massive struggle against the imposition of Hindi, let us pledge to wage a ceaseless war against the brahminical/saffronist forces trying hard to impose brahminical values, Vedic culture, Varna/caste system, untouchability and discrimination through Sanskrit, Hindi and Hinduism. Let us all unite to get rid of fascist brahminical/saffronist forces and get back our rights and Self-Respect!

Join us for the remembrance and oath-taking event in memory of the Tamil students who sacrificed their lives in the anti-Hindi struggle and to dedicate ourselves for the cause of equality and Self-Respect!

• Let’s bravely pledge a ceaseless war against the (re)Brahminization of the country through the fascist imposition of Hindutva ideologies, vedic supremacy, caste oppression, Sanskrit and Hindi!

• Let us inherit the rationalist tradition of valiant resistance against Brahminical values, caste oppression, vedic supremacy and imposition of Hindi and Sanskrit on the 50^th anniversary of the students’ struggle against the imposition of Hindi!

• Let us build a massive battle field against the Hindutva forces!

Revolutionary Students and Youth Front – Pondicherry University

welcomes you all

The golden jubilee anniversary of Tamilnadu students’ massive protests against the imposition of Hindi!

remembrance and oath-taking event

23^rd January-2015
in front of Gate II, Pondicherry University
at 3.30PM
Contact: Mobile: 9486391209, email: rsyfront.pu@gmail.com

தமிழ்நாட்டு மாணவர்களின் இந்தித் திணிப்பு எதிர்ப்பு போராட்டத்தின் பொன்விழா ஆண்டு.

• மொழிப்போர் தியாகிகளின் நினைவை நெஞ்சில் ஏந்தி வீறுகொண்டெழுவோம்!
• தமிழ் தேசிய இனத்தின் கடவுள் – ஆன்மீக மறுப்பு, வேத, வைதீக – பார்ப்பன, சமஸ்கிருத – இந்தி எதிர்ப்பு பாரம்பரியத்தை போர்வாளாக ஏந்துவோம்!
• மீண்டும் படையெடுத்து வருகிற ஆரிய – பார்ப்பன, வேத, வைதீக, சமஸ்கிருத – இந்தி ஆதிக்க பண்பாட்டை போரிட்டுவீழ்த்துவோம்!

• ஆரிய – பார்ப்பன எதிர்ப்புப் போரின் தளப்பிரதேசமாக தமிழ்நாட்டை கட்டியமைப்போம்!

புரட்சிகர மாணவர் இளைஞர் முன்னணி, புதுவைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்!

நடத்தும்

நினைவேந்தல் மற்றும் பார்ப்பனிய எதிர்ப்பு உறுதிமொழி ஏற்பு!

நாள் : ஜனவரி 23, 2015
நேரம் : மதியம் 3.30 மணி
இடம் : பல்கலைக்கழகத்தின் இரண்டாவது நுழைவாயில் முன்பாக.

தகவல்
புரட்சிகர மாணவர் இளைஞர் முன்னணி
புதுச்சேரி