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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Macron hits the ground ‘running’

French President Emmanuel Macron with Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor, Manoj Bajpayee and others during a meeting in Mumbai. Mumbai: After landing in Mumbai in late hours of Monday (February 16), French President Emmanuel Macron barely took any time to rest and hopped into his sportswear just hours later for a jog at Mumbai’s iconic Marine Drive promenade, much to the disbelief and delight of the early risers there. Macron (48) was clad in a navy-blue t-shirt, black shorts and wore comfy...

Macron hits the ground ‘running’

French President Emmanuel Macron with Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor, Manoj Bajpayee and others during a meeting in Mumbai. Mumbai: After landing in Mumbai in late hours of Monday (February 16), French President Emmanuel Macron barely took any time to rest and hopped into his sportswear just hours later for a jog at Mumbai’s iconic Marine Drive promenade, much to the disbelief and delight of the early risers there. Macron (48) was clad in a navy-blue t-shirt, black shorts and wore comfy running shoes. His adherence to his legendary fitness routine sure was a high-stakes blend of diplomacy, politics and symbolism that displayed French soft power in the country’s glam capital and financial powerhouse. As Macron jogged and paced ahead with a retinue of hard-faced security officials around him, Mumbai’s early-summer humidity seemed to affect him little. Morning walkers and office-goers in the area however, were pleasantly surprised at the sight of a European head-of-state passing by like it was just another normal day in his daily routine. The French Prez knew this and even smiled at the crowds, acknowledging them with a wave as the locals jostled to record videos which later went viral on social media. Memorial Visit The light morning mood soon made way for a sombre tribute to victims of 26/11 terror attack at the memorial in the main lobby of Hotel Taj Mahal Palace opposite the Gateway of India. Macron visited the memorial with his wife, First Lady Brigitte Marie-Claude Macron. “We paid tributes to the victims of the 2008 attacks. To their families and loved ones and to India: France stands with you. In the face of terrorism, unity and determination,” said Macron emphasizing solidarity between New Delhi and Paris against global terror. At a luncheon, a delegation from Bollywood’s bigwigs met Macron and discussed the cultural and cinematic ties between the two nations. Ordinary Indian became familiar with the marvels of the French capital almost six decades ago through the superhit musical, ‘An Evening In Paris’ (1967). Among those seen were some of Indian cinema’s biggest names like Shabana Azmi, Anil Kapoor, Manoj Bajpayee, Zoya Akhtar, Richa Chadha and Grammy-winning composer Ricky Kej. “Alongside legends of Indian cinema. Culture brings us together,” Macron posted on X, and even expressed interest in deeper film co-productions with Bollywood. Kapoor described the interaction as ‘inspiring’ with exchange of ideas on cinema and cultural collaboration between the two countries, and Bajpayee termed it as an honour. A grand welcome Earlier, Macron, visiting India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was warmly welcomed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport by Maharashtra Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, Chief Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal, DGP Sadanand Date, Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, other senior officials, and diplomats from both nations. Subsequently, Macron and Modi were closeted in delegation-level talks at the picturesque Arabian Sea-facing Lok Bhavan at Malabar Hill, when he said both France and India can give a lot to the world. “We have identified areas where we need to cooperate more to elevate our ties further,” said Macron, welcoming the recent India-European Union FTA.

Lingua Pragmatica

Updated: Mar 20, 2025

As Southern leaders like M.K. Stalin rage against Hindi, Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu offers a model of pragmatism over parochialism.

Chandrababu Naidu
Andhra Pradesh

Amid the cacophony of opposition in southern states to Hindi, Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu has taken a markedly pragmatic stance by remarking recently in the state Assembly that there was no harm in learning other languages. Hindi, Naidu noted, was useful for communication across India, particularly in political and commercial hubs like Delhi. His remarks, though avoiding explicit mention of the NEP, were widely seen as an endorsement of multilingualism and a rebuke to the linguistic chauvinism that has gripped parts of the South.


Few issues in India stir political passions quite like language. It is not merely a means of communication but a marker of identity, a relic of colonial resistance, and a source of political mobilization. In the southern states, where anti-Hindi sentiment has long been entrenched, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and its three-language formula have reignited old tensions. No state embodies this defiance more than Tamil Nadu, where the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led by M.K. Stalin has framed the policy as an assault on its linguistic autonomy.


Naidu’s words, welcomed by his ally and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, mark a sharp contrast with the DMK’s position. Tamil Nadu’s hostility towards Hindi dates back to the 1930s, when C. Rajagopalachari’s attempt to introduce it in schools met with fierce resistance. The anti-Hindi agitations of the 1960s cemented the DMK’s ideological stance, with its first Chief Minister, C.N. Annadurai, famously warning that Hindi imposition could push Tamil Nadu towards secession.


The question, however, is whether this rigid opposition serves Tamil Nadu’s interests. While Stalin, with an eye to the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, has been relentlessly portraying Hindi as a threat to his state’s regional identity, Naidu, a partner of the BJP-led Centre, is framing it as a tool for economic mobility. His argument is not that Hindi should replace Telugu or English but that it offers a competitive advantage.


The economic case for multilingualism is compelling. Indians who speak multiple languages tend to have better job prospects, higher earnings and greater geographic mobility. Andhra Pradesh’s Telugu-speaking diaspora is a case in point. Telugus make up a significant proportion of Indian-origin professionals in the United States, the Gulf, and Southeast Asia as Naidu pointed out, hinting that this success story was built not on linguistic rigidity but on adaptability.


In a country where inter-state migration is rising and where Hindi remains the most widely spoken language, refusing to learn it amounts to self-imposed isolation. Tamil Nadu’s approach, by contrast, risks limiting its youth. The DMK government has refused to implement the three-language policy, keeping schools strictly bilingual with Tamil and English. Its justification that Hindi is not necessary for global success could be true in a narrow sense but ignores the domestic context. If Tamil filmmakers can dub their movies into Hindi to expand their audience, why should Tamil students be denied access to the language that could open more doors for them within India?


The DMK has accused successive central governments, particularly under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of pushing Hindi at the expense of regional languages. Yet, rejecting Hindi outright is an overcorrection. The reality is that Hindi is an important language in India’s economic and political landscape. Naidu’s position, one of accommodation rather than confrontation, offers a middle ground that other Southern leaders would do well to consider.


Some states already recognize this. Karnataka, despite its own history of linguistic pride, has allowed Hindi to be taught as an optional language. Kerala, whose migrants work in Hindi-speaking regions and the Gulf, has been less hostile to Hindi education. Naidu’s model, balancing regional identity with practical necessity, offers a way forward. Languages should be embraced, not politicized. Southern leaders would do well to listen to him.

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