“Hindi is a Mask, Sanskrit is the Hidden Face”: Stalin Slams Centre Over Unequal Language Funding

William John
7 days ago
2 min read

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has launched a strong critique of the BJP-led Union government over its apparent bias in language promotion funding, stating that “Hindi is the mask, Sanskrit is the hidden face.” Citing a recent Hindustan Times report, Stalin accused the Centre of systematically sidelining South Indian classical languages while disproportionately favoring Sanskrit.

₹2,500 Crore for Sanskrit, Pennies for Others

The Hindustan Times report, based on RTI responses and publicly available data, revealed that the Union Government spent a staggering ₹2,532.59 crore on the promotion of Sanskrit from 2014-15 to 2024-25. In contrast, the combined spending on Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia—India’s other five classical languages—was only ₹147.56 crore, nearly 17 times less than the amount allocated for Sanskrit alone.

This works out to an average of ₹230.24 crore annually for Sanskrit, compared to just ₹13.41 crore per year for the five other classical languages combined.

Tamil Gets Less Than 5% of Sanskrit’s Budget

Tamil, which holds the distinction of being India’s first officially recognised classical language (2004), received ₹113.48 crore under the “Grants for Promotion of Indian Languages (GPIL)” scheme. Still, this amount is 22 times less than Sanskrit’s allocation.

Other languages fared even worse:

Kannada & Telugu received less than 0.5% of Sanskrit’s total.
Odia & Malayalam received under 0.2%.

Stalin: “Crocodile Tears for Southern Languages”

Reacting on social media, Stalin said:

“Sanskrit gets the crores; Tamil and other South Indian languages get nothing but crocodile tears.”

The post added fuel to the ongoing language policy battle between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the BJP. The DMK has been vocal against the National Education Policy (NEP), which enforces a three-language formula seen by the Tamil Nadu government as a backdoor for Hindi imposition.

The Two-Language Policy vs NEP

Since 1968, Tamil Nadu has followed a two-language policy—Tamil and English. The DMK continues to uphold this model and sees the NEP’s three-language formula (typically Hindi, English, and a regional language) as an attack on the state's cultural identity.

In March 2025, Stalin addressed the issue in a letter to DMK cadres, stating:

“We will oppose Hindi imposition. Hindi is the mask, Sanskrit is the hidden face.”

No Response from the Centre

The Hindustan Times reached out to the Ministry of Education for comment, but there was no response at the time of publication. The lack of transparency only strengthens the opposition’s stance on cultural centralisation and neglect of linguistic diversity.

Conclusion

With the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections looming, the BJP-DMK language face-off is expected to escalate. Stalin’s rhetoric frames the issue not just as a policy disagreement, but as a cultural and political battle for South India’s identity. Whether this will translate into electoral strategy or national debate remains to be seen—but the funding disparities are hard to ignore.