BJP-led Centre and DMK lock horns as language row intensifies in Tamil Nadu
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan asks southern State to rise above politics, regional party hits back saying it won't budge from its 2-language policy
New Delhi/Chennai: The language row involving the BJP-led Centre and the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu intensified on Friday with Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan asking the southern state to rise above politics, while the regional party hit back saying it won’t budge from its 2-language policy.
Pradhan attacked Chief Minister MK Stalin over the implementation of National Education Policy in TN and accused him of “spinning progressive reforms into threats to sustain political narratives”. The DMK indicated Tamil Nadu was being asked to implement NEP and the 3-language policy involving Hindi in return for its due share of central funds.
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Alleged Hindi imposition has been a sensitive subject in Tamil Nadu, and the DMK successfully led a massive anti-Hindi agitation in 1965 during which a number of pro-Tamil activists killed themselves, mostly by self-immolation, against imposition of the language.
Main opposition AIADMK also hit out at the Centre over NEP.
On Friday, Pradhan wrote to Stalin, asking him to rise above political differences and think about the interests of young learners who will benefit from the new NEP.
He was responding to a letter Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. The Chief Minister had said linking two centrally sponsored initiatives — Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and PM SHRI Schools — with the NEP was fundamentally unacceptable.
Pradhan said, “the letter sent to PM is a complete negation of the spirit of cooperative federalism promoted by Modi government. Hence, it is inappropriate for the state to view NEP 2020 with a myopic vision and spin progressive educational reforms into threats to sustain their political narratives.”
Tamil Nadu and the Central government have been at loggerheads over the implementation of NEP in the State, with the DMK government accusing the education ministry of stopping funds for crucial schemes.
“The continued opposition to NEP 2020 for political reasons deprives students, teachers, and educational institutions in Tamil Nadu of the immense opportunities and resources that this policy offers. The policy is designed to be flexible, allowing states to customise its implementation to suit their unique educational needs,” the Minister wrote.
On Tamil Nadu’s opposition to the three-language formula, Pradhan clarified that the policy does not advocate the imposition of any language. He said many non-BJP ruled states have implemented NEP despite political differences. NEP 2020 aims to broaden the horizon, not narrow them.
“I would, therefore, request you to rise above political differences and look into the matter holistically keeping in mind the interest of our young learners,” Pradhan told Stalin.
Hitting back, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin asserted the state will only follow the 2-language policy, i.e Tamil and English. Tamil Nadu was seeking only its due share of funds from the Centre from the taxes paid by it, he said.
“We are asking our (share of) funds, about Rs 2150 crore. They (Centre) want us to accept NEP and the 3-language policy. Tamil Nadu has always been opposed to three language policy and it has been made clear the 3-language policy will not be accepted. So what is there to do politics, I don’t understand” he said.
The State has sacrificed lives for the “language war,” he said in an apparent reference to the anti-Hindi agitation of 1965. “Education is Tamils’ right, please understand who is doing politics,” the DMK leader added.
The BJP’s State unit also slammed the DMK over the matter. The face-off between the Dravidian party and the BJP also saw the saffron organisation’s state unit launch an online ‘GetOutStalin’ campaign against the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.
Although BJP Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai’s initiative was aimed at the overall failures of the DMK government over issues including law and order, women’s safety and corruption among others, the choice of the campaign title seemed to have stemmed from the NEP and language row.
Days ago, while flaying the Centre, Udhayanidhi had said the people of Tamil Nadu will never allow it to ‘dump’ NEP and the trilingual policy on them and will launch a ‘Get out Modi’ campaign if any attempt is made to snatch their rights.
Annamalai had said he would launch a ‘GetOutStalin’ campaign in response to that and put out a social media message on Friday morning, following which the matter was trending on X for long.
Annamalai, in a separate social media update, wanted the state government to conduct a survey with school students in the state over their choice of a third language and start appointing teachers accordingly.
“Instead of doing politics in education, the government should aid in ensuring a bright future for students and youth of Tamil Nadu by joining the PMSHRI initiative,” he said.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said that despite pointing out on various occasions that certain clauses in the NEP might affect Tamil Nadu, it was being insisted the state should follow it without any changes. The Centre’s attempt to thrust the trilingual policy on the state that set a record in the education sector due to its bilingual policy has caused fear and confusion among the people of Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, the DMK’s Students Wing announced state-wide protests against Pradhan on February 25.
