Kamal Haasan's 'Kannada-Tamil' Remark Sparks Row; BJP Calls Him 'Ungrateful'

BJP and pro-Kannada groups have condemned Kamal Haasan's statement and are demanding an unconditional apology from him.

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan. (Photo: IANS)

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan has stoked controversy with his controversial remarks after he claimed that Kannada "was born out of Tamil" during a public event in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.  Haasan’s remark has triggered sharp criticism from politicians and the public at large in Karnataka. BJP and pro-Kannada groups have condemned his statement and are demanding an unconditional apology from him.

"This is my family in that place. That's why he (Shivarajkumar) has come here. That's why I began my speech by saying, life, family and Tamil. Your language (Kannada) was born out of Tamil, so you too are included (part of it)," IANS quoted Haasan as saying.

His comments, perceived as undermining the Kannada language's independent heritage, drew swift criticism in Karnataka. 

Lashing out at the actor, State BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra called his remarks "uncultured" and accused him of insulting Kannada and its speakers.

Vijayendra added that a person should love their mother tongue and should respect every language. 

"One should love one's mother tongue, but showing disrespect in its name is uncultured behaviour. Especially, artists should have a culture of respecting every language. It is the height of arrogance and arrogance that an actor, Kamal Haasan, who has acted in many Indian languages, including Kannada, has insulted Kannada by including actor Shivarajkumar in the glorification of his Tamil language," Vijayendra posted on X.

He further accused Haasan of continuously insulting Hinduism and hurting the religious sentiments of the people for the past few years. He demanded that the actor-turned-politician immediately apologise to the people of Karnataka. 

"Kamal Haasan, who is supposed to bring harmony to South India, has been continuously insulting Hinduism and hurting religious sentiments for the past few years. Now, he has insulted Kannada by hurting the self-respect of 6.5 crore Kannadigas. Kamal Haasan should immediately apologise unconditionally to Kannadigas," he added.

The BJP leader questioned Haasan's credibility in making historical claims about the origin of languages.

"Kamal Haasan is not a historian to define which language gave birth to which language. But the Kannada language, which has a history of more than two and a half thousand years, symbolises prosperity and represents harmony on the map of India. Let us remember Kamal Haasan, who spoke like a true sage who said that Kannadigas are not language haters but have never sacrificed self-respect when it comes to Kannada land, language, people, water, and ideas," he said in the post.