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Lessons from History · 1937
முதல் இந்தி எதிர்ப்புப் போராட்டம், 1937–1940
In 1938 the Madras government made Hindi compulsory in 125 secondary schools. Periyar, the Justice Party, Tamil scholars and women activists led a three-year protest; 1,198 people were jailed and two young men died in prison. In February 1940 the order was withdrawn — and Tamil language politics was born.
The Congress won the 1937 provincial elections in the Madras Presidency and C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) became Premier. He announced the plan on 11 August 1937, and on 21 April 1938 a government order made Hindi a compulsory subject in 125 secondary schools, in the first three forms.
Rajaji argued Hindi would help communication across India. Opponents asked why Tamil-speaking students should be forced to learn it — on top of their own language and English — and feared it would lower Tamil’s place in schools.
Periyar E.V. Ramasamy and the Self-Respect Movement, the Justice Party (including A.T. Panneerselvam), and Tamil scholars such as Maraimalai Adigal and Somasundara Bharathiar led the opposition. Women activists such as Moovalur Ramamirtham and S. Dharmambal mobilised women in large numbers.
The movement used conferences, marches, picketing of schools and government offices, black flags and pamphlets across Madras, Salem, Tanjore, Tirunelveli and Ramnad.
The government responded with arrests: 1,198 people were jailed, including 73 women, some of whom took their children with them to prison. Periyar was sentenced to a year’s rigorous imprisonment and released after about six months on health grounds; C.N. Annadurai was also jailed.
When the Second World War began, Congress ministries across India resigned in protest (October 1939), and Madras came under the Governor’s rule. On 21 February 1940, Governor Lord Erskine withdrew the compulsory Hindi order — Hindi became optional.
The agitation made language rights a lasting part of Tamil politics and fed the rise of the Dravidian movement. Its memory shaped the far larger 1965 agitation and Tamil Nadu’s two-language policy.
Facts checked on 18 October 2026 against the sources above. Where sources differ on a number or a date, we say so. Spotted an error? Tell us.