An octogenarian set himself on fire in southern India to protest the New Delhi government’s language policy, accused of wanting to impose across the country the use of Hindi, the language mostly spoken in the north, police said Sunday.

Language is a hot topic in India, of which there are hundreds, with English as the official language while the state government uses the vernacular. According to the last census, in 2011, only 44% of Indians spoke Hindi.

Last month, a group of lawmakers led by influential home minister Amit Shah reportedly recommended making Hindi the official national language, including for education.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist, for his part criticized the use of English for what he saw as a “slave mentality” and promoted the use of the Indian language.

But his opponents accuse him of wanting to impose Hindi, which displeased residents in the south of the country where the Dravidian languages ​​are spoken, a completely different family of Indo-European languages ​​from which Hindi is spoken. part. .

Police said MV Thangavel, an 85-year-old farmer, doused himself in fuel and set himself on fire Saturday in Salem, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, holding a sign that read: “Modi government, stop forcing Hindi. . Why should we choose Hindi over Tamil with its rich literature? […] This will endanger the future of our young generation.”

Thangavel killed himself in front of the local DMK party, which is ruling in Tamil Nadu and he was an activist, a police official said.

MK Stalin, the party leader who was critical of the Modi government, offered his condolences to the family of the deceased, but asked that no one else kill themselves. “We must not lose another life,” he pleaded, urging his supporters to “stand against the imposition of Hindi politically, democratically.” “Don’t let narrowness ruin this beautiful country of diversity,” he added.