As scores of labourers from UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Assam enter Tamil Nadu to work, it’s causing a Hindi implosion among the natives. Even introduction of Hindi as the third language for primary students through National Education Policy may not have achieved that.
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The 25-year-old A Palani (name changed), a manager at a hotel in Madurai, speaks to his employees in a smattering of Hindi whenever a guest arrives. While many Tamilians, especially the older generation, can speak Hindi as they have worked in places like Mumbai, Palani’s Hindi is surprising because he has never stepped outside the state. His English tutor is Dilwar Hossain, an Assamese, and other Assamese colleagues are working at the Madurai Hotel under Palani.
Palani claims Dilwar has also learnt Tamil. “He cannot speak, but understands Tamil,” said Palani.
This would not be music to the ruling DMK which for years has been playing the Hindi versus Tamil card. DMK minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, referring to people like Palani, said: “This is indicative of the superior quality of Tamil Nadu’s education system that our people can adapt and easily learn a third language (Hindi), even though an average Assamese migrant worker cannot adapt to Tamil. It is the tragedy of the Assamese educational system.”
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Palani accepts that it is hard to pick up Hindi and says it would have been better if it was taught in schools. However, Palani is not going to vote in the assembly polls. Palani says he votes only during panchayat polls.
