Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday extended warm birthday greetings to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on his 72nd birthday. Taking to social media platform X, the Prime Minister posted, “Birthday greetings to Tamil Nadu CM Thiru MK Stalin. May he lead a long and healthy life.”
Meanwhile, CM Stalin marked the day by paying floral tributes to DMK founder and former Chief Minister CN Annadurai at Chennai’s Anna Memorial at Marina Beach. In a gesture of celebration, Stalin also distributed chocolates to schoolchildren at the Muthamizharignar Dr. Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi Memorial, according to the Department of Information and Public Relations.
Stalin is set to receive greetings from leaders of alliance parties and members of the DMK. Notably, on February 28, actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan met the Chief Minister and praised his stance against the three-language policy, calling him a “bulwark” in protecting Tamil Nadu’s culture and identity.
Taking to X, Haasan expressed his support for Stalin’s resistance against cultural and linguistic pressures. “At a time when the people of Tamil Nadu, the Tamil language, and Tamil culture are facing various pressures, Mr. Stalin, like his predecessors, has emerged as a bulwark to protect Tamil Nadu. I congratulate him with joy. Long live the people!” Haasan wrote.
CM Stalin has been vocal in his opposition to the New Education Policy (NEP) of 2020, particularly raising concerns over the “three-language formula” and alleging that the central government aims to impose Hindi. He has advocated for the use of Artificial Intelligence and advanced translation technologies to avoid burdening students with the necessity of learning an additional language.
“True progress lies in innovation, not linguistic imposition,” Stalin emphasized. Criticizing the argument for Hindi’s necessity in North India, he added, “BJP leaders advocating Hindi insist, ‘You must know Hindi to buy tea, pani puri, or use toilets in North India.’ In the Age of AI, forcing any language as a third language in schools is unnecessary. Advanced translation technology already removes language barriers instantly,” he wrote on X.
