Anti-Hindi agitator’s pension plea dismissed

Justice R Suresh Kumar, while dismissing a petition filed by S Chokalingam, said, “Since the government has come forward to stop giving any benefit to those who participated in the agitation in the name of language by issuance of a GO and the said GO is in force, no order can be passed by any authority, including the government, contra to the said order, which reflects the present policy of the state.”

The petitioner contented that inspired by Tamil, he had participated in the anti-Hindi agitations in and around Tiruppur and Avinashi and had been imprisoned. The state government had brought a legislation to give pension to those who had participated in agitations to preserve the Tamil language.

Accordingly, in 1987 he had applied along with jail certificates, seeking pension. But, there was no response. Ultimately, pursuant to a direction of the court, the authorities had on November 11, 2003, rejected his application, he added. By relying upon a 2007 GO, government advocate submitted that the claim of granting pension to the sufferers of agitation for protecting Tamil language, has been stopped and therefore, the petitioner cannot make any claim for pension under the said Act.

“The courts have already taken the view that the pension or extending any benefit in the name of protecting the language, would amount to encouraging the agitation against the particular language and if this continues, the unity and integrity of the country will be at stake and one day the nation will disintegrate in the name of language.”