Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhaya Nidhi Stalin, who proclaims to be proud Christian and wanted to destroy Sana Tana dharma like malaria and dengue in 2023, has once again triggered controversy by saying Sanskrit is a dead language.
Addressing a book release event on November 21 in Chennai, he criticised the Union Government for allocating only Rs 150 crore for Tamil development, while for Sanskrit, “a dead language”, it was allocating Rs 2,400 crore.
BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia countered him, saying Udhayanidhi Stalin is “known for his hatred” for Hindus. The DMK leader had earlier hurt the sentiments of Hindus by comparing Hindutva and Hindus with dengue and malaria, he said. “Once again insulting and abusing Hindus and our culture, Udhayanidhi Stalin is now saying that Sanskrit is a dead language. His remarks are as cheap and disgusting. Udhayanidhi Stalin forgets that Sanskrit is the foundation of our culture and religious texts, as well as the faith of millions of Hindus.”
Udhayanidhi Stalin is an habitual offender when it comes to hurting the sentiments of Hindus.
We all are aware how in the past, he compared the beautiful, tolerant Hindu religion to diseases like dengue and malaria.
And now once again, he has attacked our culture by saying that… pic.twitter.com/ZMrvZEjjWa
— BJP ArunachalPradesh (@BJP4Arunachal) November 22, 2025
Reacting to his remarks, former Telangana Governor and BJP leader Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan said, “This mindset of appreciating one language only by putting down another is fundamentally wrong, and leaders must be more responsible when they speak about language and culture, Even Tamil has many inclusions from Sanskrit. Tamil is an open-hearted language that has absorbed words and ideas from many tongues, including Sanskrit. This shows its strength, not its weakness.”
#WATCH | Chennai: On Tamil Nadu Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin's reported statement on Sanskrit language, BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan says, "We can appreciate our own language but even Tamil won't allow degrading other languages…If you appreciate one language, it does not… pic.twitter.com/ptma879CgH
— ANI (@ANI) November 21, 2025
TN BJP chief spokesperson Narayanan Tirupathi, in a long tweet on ‘X’, said, “Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of the DMK leader, has once again called Sanskrit a ‘dead language’. The DMK, which has been indulging in cheap and ugly politics by inflaming linguistic emotions and sentiments of the people and engaging in hate politics, continues the same even in this generation.”
He further added, “Udhayanidhi Stalin has asked why the three-language formula is being imposed on our children. If that is truly his concern, will he pressurise the management of ‘Sunshine’ school run by his family to take a decision that the three-language policy will no longer be followed there? Similarly, will he order his party colleagues—ministers, MLAs, and MPs of the DMK who run schools—to ensure that the three-language formula is not implemented in their institutions? Since those schools charge high fees and have plenty of money, why should the same three-language formula be an obstacle for poor students in government schools? What kind of logic is this—that only the rich should learn three languages, but poor government school students should not?”
Narayanan asked, “as to what has our Prime Minister Modi done for the development of the Tamil language? No Indian till date has proclaimed the greatness and glory of Tamil across the world the way Prime Minister Modi has done. No political leader in Tamil Nadu so far has celebrated Thiruvalluvar, Kambar, Ramanujar, Avvaiyar, Ramalinga Adigalar, and Bharathiyar the way Modi has. Udhayanidhi seems unaware of this.”
He added, “The reason they call Sanskrit a dead language is their insecurity—fear that if another language grows, their own language might perish. Tamil is the world’s oldest language, the best language, the sweetest language. No other language can diminish or destroy it.”
The spokesperson said, “But it is the Dravidian model that has been mixing English words here and there into Tamil, corrupting many pure Tamil words, and turning ‘Tamil’ into ‘Thanglish’. For over 60 years, they have been trying to uproot pure Tamil—this is the truth. Karunanidhi, Stalin, Udhayanidhi, Inbanidhi, Dayanidhi—none of them have Tamil names, yet they seem to have forgotten the saying ‘Senthamizh um naa-p-pazhakkam’ (pure Tamil and refined speech). Is that why they live with names derived from the very Sanskrit they call a dead language?”
Adding further, he said, “To further polish and enhance the wonderful, great, sweet, and ancient Tamil language, what is needed is not money but a broad mind, love for Tamil, affection, and passion. It is only fair that Udhayanidhi does not understand this. Because it is the DMK people—from the past till today—who have been adding uncivilised, disgusting, low-level words to the civilised, grammatically rich, literature-abundant Tamil language, thereby destroying both the younger generation and the sweetness of Tamil. Their speakers have been proving this day after day.”
Highlighting further, Narayanan said, “Tamil is a language that will forever live with fame and glory—a fully developed language with pride and greatness. Parties like the DMK, which treat those who called Tamil a ‘barbaric language’ as their heroes and guides, have no moral right to speak about the Tamil language. Since Sanskrit is not the mother tongue of people from any particular state and its usage has decreased, it is the duty of the central government to ensure that everyone learns about its many special qualities, antiquity, science, culture, and justice contained in that language. Not just the BJP government—all governments in independent India (including the Congress governments in which DMK was a partner) have made efforts to promote Sanskrit. Udhayanidhi either does not know this or is deliberately acting with the intention of creating linguistic hatred and dividing people. That is the truth about the DMK.”
Udhayanidhi Stalin, @Udhaystalin son of the DMK leader, has once again called Sanskrit a "dead language". The DMK, which has been indulging in cheap and ugly politics by inflaming linguistic emotions and sentiments of the people and engaging in hate politics, continues the same…
— Narayanan Thirupathy (@narayanantbjp) November 22, 2025
Concluding his tweet, Narayanan Tirupathi said, “The only ‘Tamil development policy’ of the DMK is allocating funds in the name of Tamil development and engaging in corruption. If Udhayanidhi has the courage, let him release a white paper revealing how much money DMK governments have allocated for Tamil development and what benefits have actually resulted from it. All the scams they have committed and continue to commit in the name of Tamil development will be exposed.”
Netizen Sanghi Prince asks, “Did DMK ever face an election without an alliance? No. Did DMK ever win two times in a row? No. So if Sanskrit is a ‘dead language’ because fewer people speak it, then by the same logic DMK is a ‘dead party’ because all they have is anti-incumbency votes, not a vote bank.”
Did DMK ever face an election without an alliance? No
Did DMK ever win two times in a row? No
So if Sanskrit is “dead language” because fewer people speak it, then by the same logic DMK is a "dead party" because all they have is anti-incumbency votes, not a vote bank.🤡 pic.twitter.com/iAmc5cP3Js
— Sanghi Prince 🚩 (@SanghiPrince) November 22, 2025
Critics say “this is to confuse voters of Tamil Nadu. DMK govt. has issues allocating funds to promote Urdu Persian languages. There are over 270 Urdu-medium schools in Tamil Nadu, offering instruction up to Grade XII. The Tamil Nadu State Urdu Academy is working to improve the status of these schools. it is for minority votes. Sanskrit is an ancient language in which Vedas, ethics and all were been written. DMK perceives this as a Brahminical language”.
