PM Modi rues 'politicisation' of Tamil language, quips 'thankfully, Idli and dosa were not politicised'

PM Modi rued the "politicisation" of the language and quipped, "Thankfully, Idli and dosa were not politicised, it would have been limited to Tamil Nadu,

In an interview with Tamil channel Thanthi TV, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted his connection with Tamil Nadu which he said span five decades in various roles and capacities. He mentioned the period of Emergency and he visited the southern state for coordination work, Ekta Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, and party coordination work. Speaking about a memory that touched him, he said, "An elderly 90-year-old woman from the family of freedom fighter Kumaran came and blessed me in Erode (during the Ekta Yatra)."

"I don't think we should look at Tamil Nadu in a fragmented way, we should see it in its entirety. I am angry that we have done injustice to this great civilisation... India has a language that is thousands of years old which is the world's richest language but we do not express it to the world," he remarked, adding that he tries to learn the language.
"I resolved to speak Tamil in UN, I wanted to tell that world that Tamil is the oldest language. It is such a rich civilisation, it should have been celebrated," he added.

PM Modi rued the "politicisation" of the language and quipped, "Thankfully, Idli and dosa were not politicised, it would have been limited to Tamil Nadu, but it is readily available all over... Tamil language should be spread across the world. It has been appropriated by politicisation which has harmed the Tamil language and the country."

Regarding his favourite Tamil food, he said he enjoys Upma and Pongal.