Ravichandran Ashwin, who retired from international cricket in December, sparked a conversation on language and identity while speaking at a graduation ceremony at a private engineering college in Chennai.
Ashwin, who concluded his illustrious career with 537 Test wickets and as India’s second-highest wicket-taker across formats, made a strong statement about Hindi’s status in India, emphasising that it is an ‘official language’ and not a ‘national language’.
Ashwin began his address by engaging the audience in a light-hearted interaction, asking how many attendees understood English, Tamil, and Hindi.
‘English students in the house… give me a yay. Tamil?’ he asked. The crowd roared in response, reflecting the pride and enthusiasm for the Tamil language.
‘Okay… Hindi?’ he continued. The response this time was subdued, with little to no reaction from the audience.
It was at this point that Ashwin made his statement, ‘I thought I should say this: Hindi is not our national language; it is an official language.’
His comment resonated strongly, especially given Tamil Nadu’s historical and cultural sensitivity toward the use of Hindi.
The state has long resisted efforts to impose Hindi as a dominant language, with the issue rooted in decades of opposition to central policies perceived as undermining Tamil culture and identity.
