The Lok Sabha session on February 11 witnessed a heated exchange between DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran and Speaker Om Birla, exposing the DMK’s deep-seated aversion to Sanskrit and Hindi. Maran’s dramatic outburst against the inclusion of Sanskrit in the list of languages for simultaneous translation in Parliament backfired spectacularly as Speaker Birla and several members schooled him on his ignorance regarding India’s linguistic heritage.
Dayanidhi Maran’s Stage-Like Performance Draws Criticism
Known for his loud rhetoric and exaggerated gestures, Dayanidhi Maran attempted to question the necessity of Sanskrit interpretation in Parliament. Soon after Question Hour, as Speaker Birla announced that translation would be available in Sanskrit, DMK members erupted in protest. Maran stood up and aggressively questioned, “Sir, you are giving translations for languages which are most welcome, for official state languages. Can you tell me which official state language is Sanskrit? Why should taxpayers’ money be wasted because of RSS ideology? It is not communicable and it is not the official language of any state. The 2011 census said only 73,000 people speak Sanskrit. Why is taxpayers’ money being wasted?”
DMK’s relentless opposition to Sanskrit, Sanatan & Hindutva !
40000 temples in Tamil Nadu chant mantras in Sanskrit,
All rituals starting from birth to death are performed in Sanskrit in Tamil Nadu
Om Birla ji rightly exposed DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran in the parliament today. pic.twitter.com/zmmIMF0Jlh
— Rahul Jha (@JhaRahul_Bihar) February 11, 2025
His remarks sparked an immediate and strong response from Speaker Om Birla, who rebuked him for his lack of knowledge. “Hon’ble member, in which country are you living? This is Bharat, and the core language of Bharat has been Sanskrit. I mentioned 22 languages, not Sanskrit alone. Why do you object to Sanskrit? There are 22 recognized languages in Parliament. Simultaneous interpretation will take place in Hindi as well as Sanskrit. Why do you object to Sanskrit? You have a problem with Hindi and Sanskrit,” Birla retorted.
🚨Brutal slap on the face of DMK MP:
Dayanidhi Maran – Only 73,000 people speak Sanskrit, so why should tax-based money be wasted because of your RSS ideologies?
Om Birla – THIS IS BHARAT 🔥
Why do you have a problem with Sanskrit? You have a problem with Hindi, you have a… pic.twitter.com/63t03IZnk9— BALA (@erbmjha) February 11, 2025
Speaker Birla’s strong response drew praise from various quarters. A netizen noted, “Lok Sabha Speaker strongly rebuked Dayanidhi Maran for objecting to Sanskrit Language. DMK’s obsession with language politics is nothing new—it’s their tool for divisive narratives.” (https://x.com/SolankySrinivas/status/1889236675341291573)
Maran’s Ignorance on Sanskrit’s Official Status
Maran’s claim that Sanskrit is not an official language of any state was quickly dismantled by social media users and experts. Sumanth Raman pointed out, “Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have designated Sanskrit as official languages of the state. In 2010, Uttarakhand became the first state in India to designate Sanskrit as its second official language. In 2019, Himachal Pradesh followed as the second state to grant Sanskrit the same status.”
Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh both have Sanskrit as their second official language. 😀 https://t.co/lwpvhXO17v
— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) February 12, 2025
Moreover, Wikipedia data indicates that there were 2,360,821 Sanskrit speakers in India as per the 2011 census, not the 73,000 figure wrongly cited by Maran.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Calls Out DMK’s Hypocrisy
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also weighed in on the controversy, calling Maran’s comments “unwarranted and hypocritical.” He remarked on social media, “Shri Dayanidhi Maran’s unwarranted remarks on #Sanskrit are not only in bad taste but also reveal DMK’s selective outrage, hypocrisy, and propaganda when it comes to India’s linguistic heritage. Indulging in divisive politics is the real waste of taxpayers’ money, Mr. @Dayanidhi_Maran.”
Shri Dayanidhi Maran's unwarranted remarks on #Sanskrit are not only in bad taste but also reveal DMK's selective outrage, hypocrisy and propaganda when it comes to India's linguistic heritage.
Indulging in divisive politics is the real waste of taxpayers' money, Mr.… pic.twitter.com/4sQxHqYQnk
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) February 11, 2025
The debate also highlighted the DMK’s long-standing anti-Sanskrit and anti-Hindi stance, which has been used as a political tool to push their Dravidian narrative.
Social Media and Public Reaction
Social media platforms erupted with criticism against Maran’s remarks, with netizens calling out the DMK’s “Hinduphobic” stance. One user noted, “Toxic Hinduphobic Dayanidhi Maran asks Speaker @ombirlakota why taxpayers’ money is wasted on Sanskrit. Om Birla ji: ‘Yeh Bharat hai aur Bharat ki mool bhasha Sanskrit hai.’ One tight slap to this scammer.”
Toxic Hinduphobe Dayanidhi Maran asks speaker @ombirlakota ji “why taxpayer money is wasted on Sanskrit”
Om Birla ji : Yeh Bharat hai aur Bharat ki mool bhasha Sanskrit hai
One tight slap to this scammer pic.twitter.com/dKN9ev7C3R
— Sameer (@BesuraTaansane) February 11, 2025
Another user questioned whether this was an attempt to erase India’s cultural heritage, stating, “Is this an attempt to ERASE India’s cultural heritage and Sanatan Dharma? Speaker Om Birla stands strong, affirming Sanskrit as India’s PRIMARY LANGUAGE.”
Glad to see Loksabha speaker Om Birla ji thrashing DMKtards for their hatred towards Hindi, Sanskrit etc.
DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran objected to debates being translated into Sanskrit along with other languages.
They hate everything associated with Hinduism. pic.twitter.com/P44qHPvil1
— Mr Sinha (@Mrsinha) February 11, 2025
DMK’s Double Standards on Taxpayers’ Money
Narayanan Thirupathi, BJP Vice President of Tamil Nadu, took a dig at Maran’s hypocrisy, reminding people of his past corruption allegations. He wrote, “‘Minister steals a Telephone Exchange and Loots BSNL’ – This was the headline in the New Indian Express on 02/06/2011, about stealing, wasting, looting Rs.440 crores of taxpayers’ money. The same person @Dayanidhi_Maran talks about wasting taxpayers’ money on translating Parliament proceedings in Sanskrit. And he doesn’t feel ashamed to talk about this because this is ‘Dravida Model.’”
https://twitter.com/Narayanan_TN/status/1889503465924132864
Sanskrit’s Growing Importance in India
Despite DMK’s objections, Sanskrit’s importance continues to grow. Parliament has now added six more languages—Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Manipuri, Sanskrit, and Urdu—to the list of languages available for simultaneous interpretation, ensuring that Parliament remains inclusive of India’s linguistic diversity. Besides English and Hindi, interpretation is also available in Assamese, Bangla, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu.
Glad to see Loksabha speaker Om Birla ji thrashing DMKtards for their hatred towards Hindi, Sanskrit etc.
DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran objected to debates being translated into Sanskrit along with other languages.
They hate everything associated with Hinduism. pic.twitter.com/P44qHPvil1
— Mr Sinha (@Mrsinha) February 11, 2025
Maran’s opposition to Sanskrit, which he deemed a “waste of taxpayers’ money,” has drawn widespread criticism from political leaders, intellectuals, and netizens, exposing DMK’s longstanding aversion to India’s linguistic heritage.
Senior BJP functionary prof. Kanagasabapathi said, ” This DMP @Dayanidhi_Maran does not know that Tamil and Sanskrit are sister languages and the Sanskrit texts contain enormous wisdom, containing the most valuable scientific and intellectual knowledge systems. It is unfortunate that TN sends such persons to Parliament.
This DMP @Dayanidhi_Maran does not know that Tamil and Sanskrit are sister languages and the Sanskrit texts contain enormous wisdom, containing the most valuable scientific and intellectual knowledge systems. It is unfortunate that TN sends such persons to Parliament. https://t.co/uBHo9xwos2
— Prof.P.Kanagasabapathi (@pkspathi) February 11, 2025
Netizen TS Krishnan in a post says “I am from Tamilnadu and I support the ever living language Sanskrit. This is because I know that without knowing Sanskrit, I can’t understand Tamil history which is documented in Sanskrit inscriptions like this. There are more than 4000 Sanskrit stone and copper plate inscriptions in Tamil Nadu alone”.
I am from Tamilnadu and I support the ever living language Sanskrit. This is because I know that without knowing Sanskrit, I can’t understand Tamil history which is documented in Sanskrit inscriptions like this.
There are more than 4000 Sanskrit stone and copper plate… https://t.co/gR6fyVdSj6 pic.twitter.com/JisDfHJhWi
— 𑀓𑀺𑀭𑀼𑀱𑁆𑀡𑀷𑁆 🇮🇳 (@tskrishnan) February 12, 2025
Ethirajan Srinivasan says “Students of Thrissur MIC ASAS (Academy of Sharia & Advanced Studies), Kerala, learn Sanskrit along with Arabic, recite slokas from Shrimad Bhagwat Gita & Mahabharata!
Students of Thrissur MIC ASAS (Academy of Sharia & Advanced Studies), Kerala, learn Sanskrit along with Arabic, recite slokas from Shrimad Bhagwat Gita & Mahabharata! pic.twitter.com/RhOpupBNxj
— Ethirajan Srinivasan 🇮🇳🚩 (@Ethirajans) February 12, 2025
Another netizen praises “The onus is on us to regain our Bharatiya Sanskriti and appreciate these women who are promoting Sanskrit 🙏🏼Sanskrit is mother of all languages”
The onus is on us to regain our Bharatiya Sanskriti and appreciate these women who are promoting Sanskrit 🙏🏼
Sanskrit is mother of all languages
❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/b2CnSNr7y9
— Sheetal Chopra 🇮🇳 (@SheetalPronamo) February 11, 2025
Yet another post on X says, “In a garment shop in Bijapur, Karnataka where medium of communication is Sanskrit ❤️ Sanskrit is mother of all languages”.
In a garment shop in Bijapur, Karnataka where medium of communication is Sanskrit ❤️
Sanskrit is mother of all languages🔥 pic.twitter.com/hgJUcHgR3x
— Viक़as (@VlKAS_PR0NAM0) February 11, 2025
Adiyarkku-Nallar who wrote commentaries for the one of the five famous Tamil epics, the Silappadikaram- composed by llango around 1800 years ago- the story of a merchant named Kovalan, which aptly fits Daya Nidhi Maran. He says “ people, those who studied theSanskrit language , speaks, it would evoke laughs only”. This proves there were days when it was a spoken language and if someone speaks poorly with their little knowledge it would be a laughable one. The learned will not accept their little knowledge and speaking in Sanskrit.
சிலப்பதிகாரத்திற்கு உரை எழுதிய அடியார்க்கு நல்லார், ஒரு செய்யுளை மேற்கோள் காட்டியிருக்கிறார்.
தேற்றா மாந்தர் ஆரியம் போலக்
கேட்டார்க்கெல்லாம் பெருநகை தருமேஅதாவது சரிவரப் படிக்காதவர்கள் சமஸ்கிருதம் பேசினால், அதைக் கேட்பவர்களுக்குச் சிரிப்பு வருமாம். ஆகவே பன்னெடுங்காலமாகவே… pic.twitter.com/fSI2znfxNi
— 𑀓𑀺𑀭𑀼𑀱𑁆𑀡𑀷𑁆 🇮🇳 (@tskrishnan) February 12, 2025
Ancient tradition of Sanskrit drama #IndianTheatre has evolved as a form of transmitting memory, with origins linked to ritual performances. According to Wikipedia says ” Kālidāsa ( 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India’s greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu Puranas and philosophy. His surviving works consist of three plays, two epic poems and two shorter poems… He is the author of two mahākāvyas, Kumārasambhava (Kumāra meaning Kartikeya, and sambhava meaning possibility of an event taking place, in this context a birth. Kumārasambhava thus means the birth of a Kartikeya) and Raghuvaṃśa (“Dynasty of Raghu”) and Meghadūta (The Cloud Messenger), a khaṇḍakāvya (minor poem)”.
Journalists Senkottai Sriram and Anthathi Krishnan who learnt Sanskrit properly says “ Dayanidhi Maran does not know that idhikasas , upanishades, four Vedas, Puranas, epics like Ramayan and Mahabarath were written in Sanskrit only. It is a Deva Pasha and a deve nagri script which is the base for the Hindi language. Tamil and Sanskrits are oldest and ancient languages. DD has news bulletin in the morning in Sanskrit. Sudharma is daily Published in Sanskrit Language.
Sudharma established an online e-paper in 2009. It was the first-ever Sanskrit e-paper.
Even today, Mattur is a village in Karnataka where Sanskrit is spoken for everyday communication. It is known as the “Sanskrit village” and is one of the few Sanskrit-speaking villages in India.
Critic raps Dayanidhi’s speech in the Lok Sabha poor exposure of his general knowledge in now knowing the ancient language Sanskrit.
On the same day, another South Chennai MP Tamizhachi Thangapandian made a gaffe.
புதிதாக மாற்றப்பட்ட தி.மு.க., பாருங்கள். பகுத்தறிவு அரசியலை விட்டுவிட்டு மத அரசியலை திமுக கையில் எடுக்கும். #நானும்_சங்கி_தான்_திமுக
pic.twitter.com/6ne3CcMEZN— Gayathri Raguramm – Say No To Drugs (@Gayatri_Raguram) February 12, 2025
political commentator Sriram Sehadri in a post says “What the @arivalayam ” MP saying is give up separatist politics and take up communal politics for which the Communist MP claps. TN people sent such MPs to the parliament great.
What the @arivalayam MP saying is give up separatist politics and take up communal politics for which the Communist MP claps. TN people sent such MPs to the parliament great. pic.twitter.com/IeJmOSPYHx
— SS Iyengar 🇮🇳 (@Isriramseshadri) February 12, 2025
Dayanidhi Maran’s ignorance of Sanskrit’s historical and cultural significance has exposed the DMK’s obsession with language politics.
