Actor Prakash Raj, who made a fortune acting in Hindi blockbusters such as Wanted and Singham, recently displayed linguistic bigotry after being called out for his picture that insulted the Hindi language.
In the picture, which is three years old, Raj is seen wearing a t-shirt with a map of Karnataka and a message printed in Kannada. The message reads, “I don’t know Hindi, Go!”. When a Twitter user tagged Tamil Nadu police and asked if FIR would be filed against Prakash Raj, the actor pulled out the victim card saying it is his way of protesting against language imposition.
“My roots..my mother tongue is KANNADA .. if you DISRESPECT her and try to FORCE your language.. we will PROTEST like this,” tweeted Prakash.
ನನ್ನ ಬೇರು.. ನನ್ನ ಮೂಲ ನನ್ನ ಕನ್ನಡ.. ನನ್ನ ತಾಯನ್ನು ಗೌರವಿಸದೆ ನಿನ್ನ ಹಿಂದಿಯನ್ನು ಹೇರಿದರೆ ನಾವು ಹೀಗೇ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ .. ಹೆದರೊಲ್ಲ..ಅಷ್ಟೇ..My roots..my mother tongue is KANNADA .. if you DISRESPECT her and try to FORCE your language.. we will PROTEST like this. R u threatening #justasking pic.twitter.com/JaRLOhGKTT
— Prakash Raj (@prakashraaj) March 6, 2023
Even though Raj had extensively worked in the Hindi film industry with prominent actors, accomplished directors, and top production houses, he has been at the vanguard perpetuating language divides and regional chauvinism, often resorting to victimhood and prevarication when called out for his potentially dangerous rhetorics.
After realising that his picture reflected latent hatred for Hindi, Raj tried mending his ways, going into overdrive to explain his stance. In his subsequent tweet, Raj, who routinely shares tweets posts by Alt News’ Mohammed Zubair, the man who dog whistled against Nupur Sharma and galvanised Sar Tan Se Juda protests across the country, rambled that he speaks seven languages, and speaking a language is respecting its people.
I speak 7 languages .To learn n speak a language is RESPECTING its people . I have learned every language of the people I work with. I don’t force my language. But if you disrespect mine and force your language I will stand up and protest #stopHindiImposition #justasking
— Prakash Raj (@prakashraaj) March 7, 2023
Nevertheless, the picture of Prakash Raj hating Hindi is going viral on the internet at a time when social media is replete with unverified claims of migrant workers from Bihar being ‘attacked and beaten up brutally’ in Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu government and police have rubbished the claims as fake and asserted that migrant workers are safe in the state.
Tamil Nadu DGP Sylendra Babu denied the assault on Bihari workers and issued a statement on Thursday, March 2 claiming that Bihari migrant workers were not being attacked in Tamil Nadu. He said he had reached out to his counterpart in Bihar, DGP RS Bhatti, and refuted the reports being shared in the media and social media.
However, DMK’s poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Sunday released a video stating that the attacks were real and should not be ignored by the Tamil Nadu government. He said that Tamil Nadu police and the ruling leaders of Bihar have disapproved of the incident calling it fake, but the attacks need to be looked into.
“The DGP of Tamil Nadu has denied of any such attacks on the migrant workers. But the incidents are real. The DMK government in Tamil Nadu has also disapproved of these incidents. I will post the correct videos” Prashant Kishor saidwhile addressing a press conference on March 6.
