New Delhi/Chennai, Feb. 27 -- The Centre has dismissed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's 'Hindi imposition' remarks as "silly," media reports said.

Stalin's criticism of the central government intensified on Thursday as he went on to assert that the forced spread of the language had led to the extinction of 25 native North Indian languages over the past century.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader reiterated his party's opposition to what he termed the 'imposition' of Hindi.

He accused the Centre of contradicting its own assertion that students nationwide could study any language, pointing out that Tamil was not widely offered as a subject outside the Andaman Islands.

He also alleged that in Rajasthan, Sanskrit teachers had...