The use of language is a highly sensitive topic in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. There have been debates about the use of the Hindi language in the state and it is also a political issue. A no. of ministers from Tamil Nadu have refused to accept Hindi as their language and insisted on using Tamil in the state.
Former India offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin has recently sparked a controversial debate on the use of language in the state. Ashwin termed Hindi as an official language and not a national language.
Ravichandran Ashwin sparks controversial debate on language
Ravichandran Ashwin was speaking at a graduation ceremony at a private engineering college in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. During the ceremony, he asked the no. of students who could understand English. Further, he also asked about the students who could speak Tamil or Hindi.
While he received a warm applause for English, he received an even loud applause for the Tamil language which was understandable as he was in Tamil Nadu. However, the cheers went down considerably when Ashwin asked for Hindi language.
“English students in the house….give me a yay. Tamil? (loud cheers from the crowd). Okay… Hindi (very little cheer)” Ashwin said at the ceremony.
After realizing that there was almost no cheer from the crowd for the Hindi language, Ashwin sparked the debate by saying, “I thought I should say this. Hindi is not our national language; it is an official language.”
#Watch | தமிழுக்கு அதிர்ந்த அரங்கம்.. இந்திக்கு SILENT.. “இந்தி தேசிய மொழி இல்ல”.. பதிவு செய்த அஸ்வின்!
சென்னையில் உள்ள தனியார் பொறியியல் கல்லூரியில் நடைபெற்ற பட்டமளிப்பு விழாவில் மாஸ் காட்டிய கிரிக்கெட் வீரர் அஸ்வின்#SunNews | #Chennai | #Ashwin | @ashwinravi99 pic.twitter.com/TeWPzWAExQ
— Sun News (@sunnewstamil) January 9, 2025
Is Hindi India’s national language?
Ashwin received another loud cheer from the crowd after he refused to call Hindi a National language. However, these remarks have sparked a controversial debate on social media
It is to be noted that the Constitution of India accepts Hindi as an “official language” but not the national language. India doesn’t have a designated national language because of the vast variety of languages being spoken in different parts of the country.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s incredible numbers in Tests
Ravichandran Ashwin retired from international cricket recently during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He officially announced his retirement after the third Test of the series played at Gabba, Brisbane.
The 38-year-old veteran finished as one of the legends of the game, having played more than 100 Tests in his prolific Test career. Ashwin picked up 537 wickets in 106 Tests at an average of 24 with 37 five-wicket hauls.
Ravichandran Ashwin finished as India’s second most successful bowler in Tests after Anil Kumble. Besides his bowling, he was also a handy batter down the order. He scored 3503 runs at an average of 25.75 and struck 6 hundreds in his career.
Apart from Test cricket, Ashwinn also played a fair no. of white-ball cricket. He finished with 156 wickets in 116 ODIs at an average of 33.20 and 72 wickets in 65 T20Is at an average of 23.22.