An 85-year-old South Indian man MV Thangavel, has set himself on fire in a protest against the central government’s plan to impose the Hindi language, primarily spoken in the northern parts of the country, as the national language. This was according to police reports on Monday, November 28.
This incident occurred on Saturday, November 28 in front of the ruling DMK party office of which he was a member, raising slogans against the Hindi imposition. “He had afterward set himself on fire after dousing his body with petrol.”
“Although the party workers and the public tried to save the elderly man, he died of self-immolation at the scene,” the statement further added.
A local party leader who confirmed the incident remarked that just before setting himself on fire, Thangavel had demonstrated with a placard that read:
“Modi government stop imposing Hindi. Why do we need to choose Hindi over our literature-rich Tamil? It will affect the future of our youth.”
The Indian language usage was encouraged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who explained that the use of English was a “slave mindset” but political opponents have accused Modi’s administration of trying to impose Hindi over the southern Indian languages, leading to tension in the south.
