I’m a Gujarati. Born and brought up in Chennai.
Tamil is the language I heard on the streets. In buses. In shops. In friendships. In daily life.
It shaped me as much as Gujarati did. So when this debate comes up, I don’t see it as North vs South. I see it as respect vs entitlement.
Yes, Hindi matters. If you want to do business with the North, work there, travel there of course it helps. I use it too. No insecurity about that.
But there’s a difference between learning a language
and forcing a language. Forcing never builds unity. It only builds resistance.
The South doesn’t have “one language”. It has many. Each with centuries of history, poetry, emotion, identity.
These languages won’t die in one generation. They’ll die slowly. When people stop valuing them. When children stop hearing them. When others refuse to learn them.
And that’s how cultures disappear.
If I choose to live in Tamil Nadu,
do business here, build my life here… then learning Tamil isn’t “adjustment”.
It’s gratitude. It’s saying….This place gave me opportunity. I’ll give it respect.
India was never meant to sound the same everywhere.
Our power is in our accents.
Our scripts. Our stories.
Many languages. One country.
That’s civilisation.
You speak Hindi; because, you know Hindi.
I speak Hindi; because, you know ONLY Hindi.!!
@ptrmadurai 🫡