“Tamil Nadu Will Not Bow Down”: Udhayanidhi Stalin Warns Centre of ‘Language War’ Over Hindi Push

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Tuesday delivered one of his strongest political statements yet, declaring that the state will fiercely oppose any attempt by the Union government to enforce Hindi across the country. Speaking at the ABP Network Southern Rising Summit 2025 in Chennai, Stalin said Tamil Nadu would “not hesitate to enter a language war” if the Centre pushes Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states.

Addressing a packed audience, Stalin cautioned that India’s federal structure is under visible strain as “centralisation of power is rapidly growing.” He argued that the Union government has been repeatedly undermining the rights of states, particularly those governed by regional parties. “If Hindi is forced upon us, Tamil Nadu is fully prepared for a language war. Our stand is clear and unchanged,” he said, reaffirming the DMK’s decades-old ideological stance against linguistic imposition.

Stalin alleged that the BJP-led Union government is systematically weakening the foundations of cooperative federalism. He accused the Centre of using financial and administrative tools to punish states that perform well and challenge its political narrative. “The BJP tries to make economically strong states politically weak, and politically strong states economically weak,” he claimed, pointing to what he described as discriminatory tax sharing, delayed fund allocations, enforcement of centrally designed schemes, the National Education Policy, and the impending delimitation process.

In a unique analogy, the Deputy Chief Minister compared Dravidian politics to the logic of computer science. He described the DMK’s ideological framework as a finely tuned “Dravidian algorithm”—a century-old model based on social justice, cultural identity, and consistent political reform. Just as algorithms guide machines toward accurate results, he said this Dravidian algorithm guides the people of Tamil Nadu in major political choices.

“This algorithm tells us one thing clearly: Tamil Nadu will never accept domination by the Union government. Our people will always defend our language, our rights, and our democracy,” Stalin declared, drawing applause from the audience.