New Delhi:
Ashwin makes controversial statement about Hindi: Recently, the great off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who surprised everyone by retiring from international cricket during the Australia tour, is now slowly starting to make a place in the “other world”. While participating in public functions, he has also started talking to the media. Ashwin, who was famous for his intellectual statements, while speaking a very interesting thing in a program, said, “Hindi is not our national language, but the state language”, it remains to be seen how far this statement of Ashwin goes and whether other stalwarts or How do common fans take it?
Ashwin had come to participate in a college program in Tamil Nadu. Hindi has always been used as a sensitive subject in the state. And many times there has been a sharp reaction regarding this. Addressing the students, Ashwin said, “If any of the students participating in the function is not comfortable in English or Tamil, they can ask questions in Hindi.”
Ashwin said in a loud voice, “The English students present should answer me.” At this the hall echoed with the word Tamil. “Okay, now Hindi speaking students”, there was silence in the room on this question of Ashwin. On this, Ashwin broke the silence in Tamil and said, “I think I should say something about this. I feel that Hindi is not our national but the official language.”
Certainly, what Ashwin has said, if further opposition is seen from Hindi speaking states on this statement, or debate is seen on TV, then it will not be surprising. The statement of the former off-spinner has come at a time when Tamil Nadu’s ruling party DMK has alleged that the Center is trying to impose Hindi on the states, especially the southern states.
In the program, Ashwin also remembered his own engineering days and told how taking this degree taught him a lot in life. The former off-spinner appealed to the students to never give up and continue on their path even in difficult days.