'South Indian' Party? Why DMK's Language Protest Has Congress Worried About Perception Game

Last Updated:March 11, 2025, 22:28 IST

The Congress is trying to resist attempts to be labelled as 'south Indian', after having lost space in north India but coming to power in Telangana and Karnataka

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, DMK MPs Tiruchi Siva, A Raja, MDMK chief Vaiko and other MPs stage a protest against the BJP-led Centre during the budget session of Parliament, in New Delhi on March 11. (Image: PTI/Shahbaz Khan)

The Hindi versus Tamil war between the Centre and DMK has caught the Congress in a bind and put the INDIA bloc in a fix. The Grand Old Party is trying to resist attempts to be labelled as ‘south Indian’, after having lost space in north India but coming to power in Telangana and Karnataka.

In fact, when senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was elected from Kerala’s Wayanad in the Lok Sabha elections last year, this perception gained in strength. This is why the party was keen that he represent the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency in the Lok Sabha while Priyanka Gandhi moved to Wayanad.

The DMK is an important ally to the Congress and, without it, the party has little or no future in Tamil Nadu. After a day’s hesitation, it asked its Tamil Nadu MPs to join the DMK’s protest over the three-language policy in the Education Policy (NEP) 2020. It was only after that, Karti Chidambaram and Manickam Tagore were spotted alongside their southern allies.

But this support for the English cause and “anti-Hindi" stance makes sense for the DMK, which is based out of Tamil Nadu, and for the Congress down south. But the party prides itself on being pan-Indian and wants to increase its footprint in the north as well. Which is the reason why this perception that it is “anti-Hindi" is worrying many of its northern leaders.

According to sources, some Congress MPs from the north raised this concern during a parliamentary strategy party meeting. “We understand that we need to support our ally, DMK, and southern MPs but won’t it make us look anti-Hindi? Won’t it hurt us?" they asked during the meeting, sources said.

Hence, the nuanced stand on the NEP by the Congress. While objecting to it “imposing" Hindi on the Tamil people, the party does not want to issue a strong statement against it. In fact, the Gandhis have steered clear of strong protests. This is also due to the upcoming elections in Bihar, a Hindi-speaking state.

Recently, Rahul Gandhi had spoken on the draft UGC (University Grants Commission) norms and said there was an attempt by the RSS to influence the education system.

“The Tamil people have their history, language, traditions, and they have had their struggles. Doing this (UGC draft regulation) is an insult to them and all other states, where the RSS is trying to impose its hegemony," he had said.

But with the Bihar elections around the corner, many Congress leaders have given feedback to the Gandhis to go slow about targeting the NEP, or the three-language policy. They are worried that if the Gandhis step up their attack, it will look like the party has taken a strong stand.

This could reinforce the perception that the Congress is restricted and only interested in issues of the south. This is one reason why many party leaders and MPs from north are now being cautious and do not want to be seen as siding with the DMK during their protest.

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