Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday said mother tongue was not only a language with admirable antiquity; it was a classical language with the power to function independently without the help of other languages.

In his message on International Mother Language Day, the Chief Minister stressed the uniqueness of the language and said Tamil was not inferior.

The archaeological excavations in the state have been establishing the greatness of the history of the ancient Tamils whose mother tongue was not only a language with admirable antiquity, but also a classical language with the power to function independently without the help of other languages, he said.

“May our unique classical language spread throughout the world!” Stalin said in a post on the social media platform X.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said, “on International Mother Language Day, which celebrates linguistic and cultural diversity, we will always respect our mother tongue #Tamil, and all languages, and the feelings of those who speak our language with equality.” At the same time, attempts to impose some other language on the Tamils will be defeated, Palaniswami said in a post on X.

BJP state chief K Annamalai advocated providing basic education through one’s mother tongue. He said the Centre’s National Education Policy (NEP) emphasised basic education up to the fifth standard to be provided in the mother tongue.

“In today's digital world, it is essential to connect languages and create opportunities to learn multiple languages. Let us learn multiple languages based on our mother tongue, Tamil. Let us make the glory of the Tamil language known to the world,” Annamalai said on X.

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