Ashwin stirred up a language debate when he made feedback about Hindi at a commencement ceremony in a non-public engineering school in Tamil Nadu.
Ravichandran Ashwin, whose recent retirement stunned the cricket group and his followers, acknowledged that Hindi is “not our national language but an official language” – a comment that sparked a debate. Ashwin made this comment throughout the commencement ceremony of a non-public engineering school in Tamil Nadu, the place the matter of Hindi has at all times been delicate and has elicited sturdy reactions. While addressing the college students, Ashwin inquired if these current could be prepared to ask questions in Hindi in the event that they felt uncomfortable utilizing English or Tamil.
“English students in the house – give me a yay,” he urged, getting a loud cheer in reply. “Tamil” – at this, the college students roared. “Okay, Hindi?” In response, the viewers immediately fell silent. “I thought I should say this. Hindi is not our national language; it is an official language,” Ashwin went on to say, in Tamil.
Tamil Nadu: Former off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin says, “…I thought I’d say it all. It’s (Hindi) not our national language; It’s an official language. Okay, anyway”
(09/01/2025) pic.twitter.com/bR47icWZEU
— IANS (@ians_india) January 10, 2025
Even although the viewers did not request Ashwin to talk in Hindi, his comment about the language sparked political controversy. Critics seen it as a catalyst for ongoing discussions about linguistic identification, particularly in Tamil Nadu, the place there is a historic resistance to the imposition of Hindi.
The comment quickly turned a focus, prompting responses from political figures. BJP chief Uma Anandan condemned Ashwin, stating, “DMK appreciating this won’t be a surprise. I want to ask him— is he a national cricketer or a Tamil Nadu cricketer?”
Ashwin’s comment attracted extra consideration due to his prior interactions with Hindi-speaking audiences. The cricketer runs a YouTube channel known as Ash Ki Baat, which is geared toward his Hindi-speaking followers. The channel has over 126,000 subscribers, though Ashwin hasn’t posted a lot recently, doubtless as a result of his cricketing obligations.
His remarks addressed a fragile difficulty in Tamil Nadu, the place satisfaction in the Tamil language and resistance to Hindi as a dominant language have been contentious for a few years. Reactions to his assertion have assorted—some view it as a honest statement, whereas others interpret it as a political place.
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