Chennai, Feb. 27 -- Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Wednesday said that the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) will not oppose Hindi if it is not imposed on Tamil Nadu and that forcing the language on the state's residents amounts to playing with their self respect.

"For those asking why DMK still opposes Hindi, my humble response to them as one among you is -- because you still impose it on us," he said in a letter to DMK workers. "We won't oppose if you don't impose; won't blacken Hindi words in Tamil Nadu. Self-respect is Tamils' unique characteristic and we will not allow anyone, whoever it is, to play with it."

Stalin's comments on Wednesday came amid his bitter verbal war with Union education minister over the National ...