Tamil Nadu Timeline

Language Rights

15 events, 1937 to 1986; 5 marked as turning points.

  1. 1937

    1. 11 Aug 1937 to 21 Feb 1940ChennaiLanguage

      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.

  2. 1938

    1. 1 Aug 1938 to 11 Sep 1938TiruchirappalliProtest

      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.

    2. 13 Nov 1938ChennaiProtest

      Tamil Nadu Women's Conference backs anti-Hindi agitation

      To display women's backing for the protests against compulsory Hindi, a Tamil Nadu Women's Conference met in Madras.

  3. 1940

    1. 21 Feb 1940ChennaiLanguage

      Compulsory Hindi order withdrawn

      The Governor of Madras, Lord Erskine, withdrew the order making Hindi compulsory in schools, ending the first anti-Hindi agitation.

  4. 1952

    1. 15 Dec 1952ChennaiProtest

      Potti Sriramulu dies fasting for Andhra State

      Potti Sriramulu died in Madras after a long fast demanding a separate Telugu-speaking state, prompting the creation of Andhra State.

  5. 1953

    1. 1 Oct 1953KurnoolGovernance

      Andhra State carved out of Madras State

      The Telugu-speaking northern districts were separated from Madras State to form Andhra State, with Madras city remaining in Madras State.

  6. 1954

    1. Aug 1954 to 1 Nov 1956NagercoilProtest

      Travancore Tamil agitation for merger with Madras

      Tamils in southern Travancore-Cochin campaigned under Marshal Nesamony for the merger of Tamil-majority taluks with Madras State.

  7. 1956

    1. 27 Jul 1956 to 13 Oct 1956VirudhunagarProtest

      Sankaralinganar fasts to death for renaming the state Tamil Nadu

      Gandhian Sankaralinganar began a fast in Virudhunagar demanding that Madras State be renamed Tamil Nadu and died after 76 days.

    2. 1 Nov 1956KanyakumariGovernance

      States Reorganisation redraws Madras State

      Malabar and South Canara left Madras State while Kanyakumari district and Shenkottai taluk were added, leaving a Tamil-majority state.

  8. 1963

    1. 10 May 1963New DelhiLanguage

      Official Languages Act passed

      Parliament passed the Official Languages Act to allow continued use of English alongside Hindi after 1965.

  9. 1964

    1. 25 Jan 1964TiruchirappalliProtest

      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.

  10. 1965

    1. 25 Jan 1965 to Mar 1965MaduraiProtest

      1965 anti-Hindi agitation

      Student-led protests against Hindi becoming the sole official language turned into statewide riots, with police firing and self-immolations.

  11. 1968

    1. 8 Jan 1968New DelhiLanguage

      Official Languages (Amendment) Act guarantees bilingualism

      Amid fresh protests in Madras State, Parliament amended the 1963 Act to ensure English would continue in use alongside Hindi.

    2. 23 Jan 1968Fort St. GeorgeLanguage

      Assembly adopts the two-language policy

      The Madras Legislative Assembly scrapped the three-language formula and removed Hindi from the school curriculum, adopting Tamil and English.

  12. 1986

    1. 17 Nov 1986ChennaiProtest

      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.