Sunday, April 17 2005 12:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Thanjavur: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a key constituent of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre, has demanded a constitutional amendment to give autonomy to States, saying this alone could establish a 'wholesome and genuine federalism' in the country.

The party's two-day regional conference, which began in Thanjavur yesterday (Apr 16, 2005), in a resolution said that India was a country having many languages, diverse art and culture and to preserve the unity and integrity of the nation, the States should be given more powers.

Another resolution sought a constitutional amendment to make Tamil one of the official languages of the country. Despite former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's assurance that Hindi would not be imposed on non-Hindi speaking people, efforts to impose Hindi were on, it said.

If Nehru's assurance was to be protected, all the official languages of the States should be made as official languages of the country, it said adding that as a first step, Tamil should be made one of the official languages.

The conference also demanded elections to co-operatives in the State to save the co-operation movement.

Another resolution wanted Tamil to be made the medium of instruction from kindergarten to the higher education level.

A total of 46 resolutions, including the demand for giving workers the right to strike and reservation for minorities, were adopted at the conference.