Udhayanidhi Stalin Calls Sanskrit ‘Dead Language,’ BJP Hits Back

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Friday called Sanskrit a “dead language”, drawing a harsh response from the BJP, which said leaders should be more responsible while making statements.

The DMK leader was speaking at a book publishing event and criticized the Union government for allocating only Rs 150 million for Tamil Development.

In comparison, Sanskrit, a “dead language”, received 2,400 crore rupees, he said.

Taking offense to his own terminology, BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan told PTI Video that no one has the right to call any language dead, especially the language that is still used in prayers and rituals across the country today.

“The mentality of appreciating one language only by belittling another is fundamentally wrong, and leaders need to be more responsible when talking about language and culture,” he said.

According to him, even Tamil language has many additions from Sanskrit.

“Tamil is an open-hearted language that has absorbed words and ideas from many languages, including Sanskrit. This shows its strength, not its weakness,” he said.