There is also a broad argument that an extra language diverts a student’s attention away from other subjects (say, physics) and is a burden of sorts. Just as the BJP says Hindi is not being imposed, the DMK says it is not against the voluntary learning of Hindi by Tamil Nadu’s citizens.
Published Feb 24, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Feb 24, 2025 | 9:00 AM
NEP 2020 implementation Tamil Nadu.
Synopsis: The Tamil Nadu government and the Union government are in a battle over the implementation of the NEP 2020 and the three-language policy in education. The author analyses the stand of Tamil Nadu and that of the Union government.
Is the DMK government led by MK Stalin fighting a losing battle against Hindi imposition? This question sprang to my mind last week as Tamil Nadu’s chief minister and his colleagues ranted against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP-led government in a new Centre-state battle that seemed like a replay.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accused the DMK of politicising and resisting the National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020 — primarily opposing the three-language policy —to the detriment of Tamil Nadu’s students who could lose out on future opportunities.
As part of the colourful protests against Hindi imposition, women at homes in parts of Tamil Nadu drew their daily ‘kolam’ patterns made with rice flour on their streets with slogans that hit out against the Union government’s three-language policy.
However, what I did not quite expect was Stalin’s bold remark that Tamil Nadu may even hold back tax collection dues to the Union government. That, in the unlikely event of it happening, may precipitate a constitutional crisis.
Stalin would be well advised to study the ground realities of Indian politics before he took any extreme steps. Assembly elections are due next year, and rhetoric helps in invoking Dravida sentiment, but not a crisis that may invite a backlash.
To answer the question of whether Stalin is fighting a losing battle, one has to go through a circuitous route that includes Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Tanjore’s temples and the pervasive nature of computers.
I do believe Stalin is facing an uphill battle against the spread of Hindi. The DMK’s protests are understandable as the party cut its teeth as the leading Dravidian movement party in the mid-1960s with an anti-Hindi movement that helped it catapult to power and prosperity.
However, Stalin and his colleagues may take cold comfort in the fact that the BJP and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have lost a similar battle against English, which they still frown upon as a tool of British colonial education policy that they believe hurt India’s (or Bharat’s) cultural ethos.
I have been going through elements of the NEP and find that it technically does not impose Hindi under its three-language formula that advocates the mother tongue and English alongside a third Indian language for schools. But in both practice and implementation, there is much to be discussed.
For most Indian non-Hindi states, Hindi would be a natural choice as the “second” language that in effect would be the third because everybody knows English is now more useful for lucrative careers and global reach — and thus enjoys the unofficial status as the second language.
RSS and BJP love India’s prowess in information technology and have to grudgingly accept that the English language powered by American connections has played a major role in it. People in Japan, China and France have accepted the power of English and are willing to spend on it. Who are we to look at an unintended colonial gift horse in the mouth?
By the same token, the DMK needs to accept the harsh reality that its opposition to Hindi does not have many takers in other states, even though Tamil Nadu’s Dravidian and other leaders have sound arguments against the spread of Hindi.
Tamil Nadu School education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi points out how Hindi in its official variant (called Khariboli) has steamrollered other dialects such as Bhojpuri.
Congress leader Karti Chidambaram pointedly asked Pradhan on X: “What is the third language students in UP and Bihar are learning?” The fact is that UP and Bihar pay lip service to the three-language policy but are slothful in implementing it (No, Sanskrit does not count as a separate language as it is not counted as a living, modern language)
There is also a broad argument that an extra language diverts a student’s attention away from other subjects (say, physics) and is a burden of sorts. Just as the BJP says Hindi is not being imposed, the DMK says it is not against the voluntary learning of Hindi by Tamil Nadu’s citizens.
Here’s where ground reality strikes hard — even though DMK may still find ways to eat the cake and have it too.
On the one hand, Tamilians do love watching Hindi movies. Who wants to miss out on an Amitabh Bachchan or Shah Rukh Khan movie because the local government does not like Hindi? In fact, Bollywood movies kindle the appetite for Hindi and even provide Hindi learning opportunities for those who like their movies.
Hindi can help a tourist guide in Thanjavur (Tanjore) deal with hordes of northern visitors flocking to see the magnificent ancient temples of Tamil Nadu and aid careers in the national army or marketing. Technically, Hindi is a minority language spoken by only 44 percent of Indians in terms of demographics, but its uses are undeniable.
Pradhan says Tamil Nadu is losing out ₹5,000 crore in Union funds by resisting the PM Shri schools programme that advocates the teaching of science in regional languages.
Is there a way out for the DMK to eat the cake and have it, too?
I should think yes if it does the whole thing creatively. It could embrace Urdu (a language BJP leaders officially despise but unofficially love in spewing political rhetoric) or Kashmiri, both of which are official languages of India as part of its education initiatives to get funds under the NEP.
It may also join hands with other regional parties to insist on south Indian languages being taught in UP and Bihar and make the political capital of the states laggards. It is not easy to resist the power of Hindi, but turning the tables elegantly is certainly an option.
I also think of how Tamil Nadu can partner with Meghalaya for a new age in education. Khasi, spoken by a huge chunk of people in Meghalaya is not an official language in India, but there is no reason why the DMK cannot be at the forefront of pushing Kashmiri and Khasi languages to boost a new kind of federally friendly national unity.
Fun fact: There are loads of students from Meghalaya pursuing higher education in Tamil Nadu. The two states are also collaborating on tourism and healthcare. More than 88 doctors from Meghalaya were trained in Tamil Nadu as part of the efforts last year, up from 29 in the previous year.
The two states also signed a memorandum of understanding for this in 2022. Some 37 students from Meghalaya also visited science hubs in Tamil Nadu last year.
With Tamil Nadu facing labour shortages in several fields, it makes sense for the state’s government to collaborate with northern or northeastern states to attract workers by “imposing” Tamil in its own way – such as providing incentives to migrants who know or learn Tamil. Nothing stops the DMK from opening Tamil learning centres in UP and Bihar.
If the BJP is bowling bouncers at Tamil Nadu, Chennai’s “super king” Stalin can always hit them by studying the field positions.
That’s how progressive politics works. Or should.
(The writer is a senior journalist and commentator who has worked for Reuters, The Economic Times, Business Standard, and Hindustan Times. He posts on X as @madversity. Views are personal. Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
