Chennai, Feb 7 (IANS) The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) held its South Zone Youth Wing Conference in Virudhunagar district on Saturday, drawing large participation from party cadres and youth volunteers from across southern Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin, along with Deputy Chief Minister and Youth Wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin, attended the event and addressed the gathering, outlining the party’s ideological stand on language, social justice and education.
Speaking at the conference, Chief Minister Stalin reiterated the party’s long-standing commitment to protecting Tamil identity and opposing any attempt to impose Hindi through national policies.
He said the Tamil language had faced several threats over the decades and credited the Dravidian movement for safeguarding it through sustained struggles. “Whenever our mother tongue, Tamil, was in danger, we fought relentlessly to protect it,” Stalin said.
“Even today, under the guise of the three-language policy, attempts are being made to impose Hindi. They believe that if they destroy our language, they can erase our identity. We will never allow that to happen.”
The Chief Minister also criticised what he described as attempts to undermine social justice through centralised education policies.
Referring to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), he alleged that such examinations disproportionately affect students from rural and economically weaker backgrounds. He said that historically, education and employment opportunities were denied to large sections of society.
“There was a time when education was restricted, and jobs were out of reach for many communities. Reservation policies helped us correct that injustice. But now, through exams like NEET, they are trying to recreate the old system and shut the doors again,” he added.
Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, addressing the youth volunteers, urged them to strengthen the party at the grassroots level and take the message of social justice, state rights and linguistic pride to every household.
The conference is part of the DMK’s wider mobilisation efforts ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, with the party organising zonal meets across Tamil Nadu to energise cadres and consolidate support.
Party leaders said the youth wing would play a crucial role in carrying forward the Dravidian ideology and countering policies they view as detrimental to Tamil Nadu’s interests.
The event concluded with resolutions reaffirming the DMK’s commitment to federalism, social equity and the protection of the Tamil language and culture.
–IANS
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