A fresh row has erupted between the Tamil Nadu government and the BJP-ruled Centre over the two-language policy implemented by the state government.
Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s comment indicating that Tamil Nadu will not be provided funds under Samagara Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) until the New Educational Policy (NEP) 2020 is implemented in the state has reignited the debate over the long-standing battle between Tamil Nadu and Centre over policies on language and education.
While the state government is stubborn that it will not implement the three-language policy introduced by the Centre through the NEP 2020, the Union government has been reiterating its stance, emphasising its role in employment opportunities and national integration. Pradhan criticised the Tamil Nadu government for doing politics.
“To create competition among students, to create a common platform, we must embrace multilingual education. The NEP emphasises the mother tongue. Tamil is one of the oldest languages in our country. But what is wrong if a student in Tamil Nadu learns multiple languages? There is no imposition of Hindi or any other language” said Pradhan’ on Saturday.
The statement stirred a series of reactions from all political leaders in the state cutting across party lines, except the BJP. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin immediately slammed the Centre over Pradhan’s remarks. Stalin called it “blackmail” and asked which constitutional provision made the three-language formula mandatory. “Delhi will witness the trait of the Tamil people if he speaks arrogantly,” Stalin warned the Centre and Pradhan in a strongly worded statement.
“The Union government is trying to impose Hindi, and our chief minister will not accept it. Please do not impose Hindi on us,” Udhayanidhi Stalin said while reaffirming Tamil Nadu’s firm opposition to the three-language policy. He further said taunting Tamil Nadu will be "like touching fire.”
The opposition AIADMK and its leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami also slammed the Centre over its stance on the language policy and NEP.
Pradhan’s remarks and the replies by Stalin and his son have now led to a fresh row over the Centre releasing the funds under the Samagra Shiksha to the state. The DMK opened a fresh salvo against the BJP for not releasing Rs 2,152 crore due to the state. While the BJP in the state and its president K. Annamalai have been taking pains to explain about the NEP and its advantages, the DMK had already capitalised on Pradhan’s statements.
During a protest rally against NEP and the three-language policy the DMK and its alliance partners slammed PM Modi and his government’s stance over the issue. “Rs 2,152 crore is due to Tamil Nadu under the Samagra Shiksha for 2024-25. The fourth tranche of Rs 249 crore under the programme for 2023-24 too is pending,” said School Education Minister Andi Mahesh Poyyamozhi.
The long-standing tussle over language policy
Tamil Nadu’s opposition to the three-language policy and the implementation of Hindi goes back to the 1960s—the anti-hind agitation days which set the tone for the Dravidian politics in the state. The Dravidian parties in the state, right from the Dravidar Kazhagam days, have championed the two-language policy. The two Dravidian parties—the DMK and the AIADMK—are built on the principles of linguistic ethos and self-determination.
In 2020 when the Union government introduced the NEP, the then chief minister and AIADMK leader Palanisami opposed it and a resolution was passed against the three language policy proposed by the NEP. The DMK supported the resolution then. In 2021 after the Stalin-led DMK came to power in the state, the DMK constituted a 13-member expert panel and said the state would introduce its own policy. The panel had retired judges, academics and experts from various fields, including Viswanathan Anand and T.M. Krishna. Though the panel submitted its report on the State Education Policy last year, it is yet to be implemented.
“The issue is not just the language policy. Through the NEP the Centre is forcing us to accept the PM Shri schools, which will lead to handing over of the state government-run schools to the private sector in the long run,” said P.B. Prince Gajendra Babu, educationist and general secretary of The State Platform for Common School System - Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN).
“Studying more than one language is a stress for children. NEP doesn’t stop with the third language. From the ninth standard, they have to learn a classical language which will add more burden. In what way is it going to help is the fundamental question,” he asked. The other question which has come up in Tamil Nadu is the need to provide language teachers.
The school education department has also released an RTI report saying no Tamil teachers have been appointed in any Kendriya Vidyalaya Schools in Tamil Nadu and questioned why the importance of mother tongue language was not given to Tamil as per NEP in central schools. “Over 40 lakh students and 32,000 teachers depend on these funds. Tamil Nadu is already spending Rs 76 crore per month on teacher salaries and Rs 400 crore annually for RTE. This burden is growing due to the lack of central support,” Anbil Mahesh said during the protest meeting organised by the DMK against the Centre.
The state government and the DMK are of the view that the NEP prioritises centralised decision-making and is against federal rights.