A controversy has sparked yet again regarding the language tussle in India. This time it was because of a viral claim that mentions the Tamil Nadu government’s upcoming bill to ban the use of Hindi language in hoardings, boards, print advertisements, films and songs throughout the state. It ignited debates and discussions around the constitutionality and purpose of the bill. Some criticised and some praised the “bold move” of the government. Many credible media houses and social media handles shared this claim.
A user on X.com shared this claim with a caption on it that says, “Tamil Nadu govt to introduce bill banning Hindi in the State”. He also mentioned The Economic Times in his post.
Fact-Check
After the claim went viral, the Tamil Nadu government’s official fact-check unit had to intervene in this matter to clarify that it was “completely false”. The official account of the same, that is, @tn_factcheck, also mentioned that “the Secretary of the Legislative Assembly has clarified: No proposal on such a Bill has been received.” Later, the media reports claiming the preparation of such a bill were retracted. However, from its inception, this news appeared in front of a wider audience from pan India as it was first published by some popular media outlets like The Economic Times, India Today, and Zee News. While the source of the coverage was not revealed by them, some of the famous accounts on X.com, like @mxtaverse and @saloon_kada, also shared this claim.
The claim was made on the 15th of October, and it was debunked by their official statement from @tn_factcheck on the same date. We also examined the official account of the State Chief Minister, and the information for such a bill was not found. This was marked as the end of the controversy.
Conclusion
After fact check analysis, the claim was found to be fake. The the fact-check unit of the State clarified the whole issue.
