1965 Anti-Hindi Agitations in Madras
On January 26, 1950, the Government of India adopted Hindi as the official language of the country, but because of objections in non Hindi-speaking areas, it introduced a provision tentatively making English the second official language on a par with Hindi for a stipulated fifteen-year period in order to facilitate a switch to Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states. From 26 January 1965 onwards, Hindi was to become the sole official language of the Indian Union and people in non-Hindi speaking regions were compelled to learn Hindi. This led to vehement opposition and just before Republic Day, severe anti-Hindi protests broke out in Madras State. Rajaji had earlier been sharply critical of the recommendations made by the Official Languages Commission in 1957. On 28 January 1956, Rajaji signed a resolution along with Annadurai and Periyar endorsing the continuation of English as the official language. At an All-India Language Conference held on March 8, 1958, he declared: "Hindi is as much foreign to non-Hindi speaking people as English to the protagonists of Hindi". When the Anti-Hindi agitations broke out in 1965, Rajaji completely reversed his 1938 support for the introduction of Hindi and took a strongly anti-Hindi stand in support of the protests, On 17 January 1965, he convened the Madras state Anti-Hindi conference in Tiruchirapalli. angrily declaring that Part XVII of the Constitution of India which declared that Hindi was the official language should "be heaved and thrown into the Arabian Sea."
Read more about this topic: C. Rajagopalachari
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