Indian man burns himself to death in language protest

An octogenarian man burned himself to death in southern India in protest at what he called New Delhi's attempts to impose nationwide usage of Hindi, a language mostly spoken in the north, police said on Sunday. MV Thangavel, 85, a farmer in of Tamil Nadu, doused himself in petrol and kerosene and set himself alight, police said. He was holding a Tamil-language placard reading: "Modi government stop imposing Hindi. Why do we need to choose Hindi over our literature-rich Tamil... it will affect future of our youth." Senthil, a police officer who uses only one name, said: "He wrote the banner against the central government." Thangavel carried out his protest outside an office of Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK, of which he was a member. — afp