Hindi Imposition
9 events, 1937 to 2025; 2 marked as turning points.
1937
Compulsory Hindi order and first anti-Hindi agitation
The Rajaji government's move to make Hindi compulsory in schools triggered a large anti-Hindi agitation led by Periyar, the Justice Party and Tamil scholars.
1938
Tamilar Padai march from Tiruchi to Madras
Known as the Tamilar Padai, anti-Hindi protesters marched from Tiruchirappalli to Madras, addressing meetings in towns and villages en route.
1939
Deaths of Natarajan and Thalamuthu in custody
Anti-Hindi protesters L. Natarajan and Thalamuthu died after being jailed, and were claimed as the first martyrs of the anti-Hindi movement.
1940
Compulsory Hindi order withdrawn
The Governor of Madras, Lord Erskine, withdrew the order making Hindi compulsory in schools, ending the first anti-Hindi agitation.
1963
Parliament passed the Official Languages Act to allow continued use of English alongside Hindi after 1965.
1964
Chinnasamy self-immolates against Hindi imposition
DMK member Chinnasamy set himself on fire at Tiruchi, the first of the language martyrs of the second anti-Hindi struggle.
1965
Student-led protests against Hindi becoming the sole official language turned into statewide riots, with police firing and self-immolations.
1986
DMK agitation against Navodaya schools
The DMK protested the National Policy on Education's Navodaya schools, seen as a route for Hindi imposition; the schools were not opened in Tamil Nadu.
2025
Dispute over NEP, three-language policy and school funds
Tamil Nadu refused to sign the PM SHRI agreement or adopt the three-language formula, and the Union withheld Samagra Shiksha funds.