From: prem@cs.montana.edu (M.P.Premkumar)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.tamil
Subject: Re: I HATE TAMILS..
Date: 20 Aug 92 21:05:15 GMT
Article-I.D.: coe.1992Aug20.210515.15040
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, MSU, Bozeman Mt 59717

In article <41660@ogicse.ogi.edu> partha@mse.ogi.edu (R. Parthasarathy) writes:
>Siva Prasad wirtes:
>
>	[stuff deleted..]
>

>	That is precisely the reason why Tamils are irritated with Hindi.
>We don't want to face the same situation like your grandpa did, just
>because it suits somebody else.

>	[stuff deleted..]
>
>>don't you see the grave
>>administrative injustice that would have been meted out to common folk,
>>*other* than Tamils in the erstwhile Madras presidency?? 
>

>	[stuff deleted..]
>
>	I see it crystal clear. Aren't you glad that an "alien" language
>like Tamil was taken off the administrative matters? We feel that bringing
>Hindi without the will of the people will do the same thing to us Tamils.

>	[stuff deleted..]
>
>Any way, the importance
>of learning a language or converting to a religion etc should be left
>to the judgement of the individuals. Our country, no matter what we do
>is not going to benefit from making all Tamils learn Hindi compulsorily.
>We already have several schemes in our nation for the benefit of the
>nation and none of them seem to be working allright. Dragging the language
>issue this way is not going to bring co-operation from a group of people.
>It is going to alienate them more. Do you know what happened in the
>erstwhile East Pakistan when Urdu was imposed on them? People seem to
>be ignorant about sentiments and pride. 
>
>	I am not going to go through the problems that we already have
>in TN. I also know that you don't care. If you want to learn Hindi
>on your own be my guest. But don't tell me what's good for me. I as
>well as all my fellow Tamilians are doing well in our pursuits and we
>haven't gone to the dogs because we refuse to jump into the Hindi
>bandwagon. I know Hindi too, for your kind information. For the people
>up north, no matter how much of Hindi you learn, you are still a Madrasi
>with clumsy habits, unless you change your entire attire and look 
>down upon fellow southies.
>
>	[stuff deleted..]
>
>	No sir, I don't think you get the point. Sentiments are whipped
>up in Tamilians because of the feeling of being looked at with ignorance
>and arrogance. We are not given our due respect and stature in our nation.
>Hindi seems to symbolize that. Hence that much of aversion towards anything
>that symbolizes that ignorance and arrogance. I once heard a fellow from
>Delhi tell an American that all south Indian languages are very similar
>and came from Sanskrit. No Indian language, according to him had an
>origin other than from Sanskrit. Such gems of statements aren't worth
>arguing about. Because, as long as one is adamant about his views no one
>can put forth convincing points. 
>
>	In Tamil Nadu, we are seeing people feeling inferior by conversing
>in their own mother tongue, especially in cities. Tamils who have migrated
>up north (especially the second generation ones) don't seem to appreciate
>their heritage. Sure there are exceptions. However, that's how I as well
>as many of my friends have seen and felt. Chauvinists have got into the
>middle and messed up things further. 
>
>	In your state you guys are tolerant towards Hindi because somehow
>through centuries of Muslim rule, Hindi has seeped in and now you don't
>realize that it was "imposed" recently. This is akin to English in TN.
>We are not that averse to English because it has already got into our
>set up. If English was not in use until now and if someone suddenly
>made it compulsory for us to learn it because it is convinient for some
>urban folk who deal with English, that would have aroused a resistance.
>
>	In the end, we are doing well without Hindi already. No thanks,
>we don't like it shoved down our throat. If a few individuals from TN
>have to go up north to eke out a livelihood, they will without fail
>learn spoken Hindi on their own. We'd like to advise the same for our
>fellow countrymen from up north - if you come down to TN, either know 
>some rudimentary English or learn some Tamil. Don't blame the people
>of TN for not providing convinience to ignorant people. This "Madras
>is a godforsaken place, Roti miltha nahin hai udhar" attitude sucks.
>
>	Partha sarathy
>
>NB: Apologies to everyone if I've hurt your feelings.
>


EngiyO pOitteenga Parthasarathy ! You have brought in all our reservations
regarding the imposition of Hindi and the attitude towards Tamilians by the
Hindi speaking north Indians(not all but most). Why don't you post the gist 
of this article to SCI. Let others know how we feel.


Sincerely yours,
M.P.Premkumar