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While opposing the National Education Policy 2020, the Tamil Nadu government reiterated that there would be no change in its two-language policy of Tamil and English which has been in force since 1968. TN is the only state that doesn’t follow a three-language policy. Having opposed the imposition of Hindi since the 1930s, amid the recent face-off between the Centra and the state on the NEP, E T B Sivapriyan explains the genesis of such a policy and why the state has been opposing the three-language norm.
When did anti-Hindi agitation take root in Tamil Nadu?
Tamil Nadu’s first anti-Hindi agitation began in December 1937, lasting until February 1940 after then Chief Minister of Madras Presidency C Rajagopalachari issued an order making Hindi compulsory in schools. Spearheaded by the likes of Tamil writer Maraimalai Adigal and Dravidian legend E V R Periyar, the agitation saw 1,271 people being sent to prison and was withdrawn only after the order was revoked by then Governor Lord Erskine.
The next round of protests against the imposition of Hindi took place in 1948 in independent India after the cabinet led by Omandur Ramasamy Reddy made it a compulsory language.
The third such agitation took place between 1964 and 1965 after the Official Languages Act, 1963, made Hindi the sole official language. The atmosphere was so charged up that at least half a dozen people burnt themselves to death to save Tamil, and nearly 60 people, including two policemen, lost their lives. The protests ended after the Congress government at the Centre promised to amend the law to ensure the continuation of English as the official language.
What prompted Tamil Nadu to adopt a two-language formula?
The Official Language Resolution, 1968, paved the way for the implementation of a three-language formula (local language, Hindi or any Indian language, and English) across the country. However, the TN government decided to follow a two-language policy. C N Annadurai, the first non-Congress chief minister of TN in independent India, said learning Hindi was redundant as English was enough for Tamils to interact with the world.
When did the two-language policy become official?
The policy was proposed by Annadurai on January 23, 1968, on the floor of the Madras Assembly, and after a three-day debate, the House adopted a resolution scrapping the three-language formula. Since then, the state has been following a two-language policy, with Hindi being taught only in CBSE schools.
Why does Tamil Nadu oppose NEP?
The opposition is on multiple counts, including the language policy. Immediately after the NEP was released in 2020, the then AIADMK government made it clear that it would not accept the policy. Though the NEP says the third language could be any Indian language, the state sees it as a ploy to impose Hindi through the back door.
Other reasons for opposing the NEP include a uniform national policy on education, a subject on the Concurrent List of the Constitution and the proposed four-year undergraduate programmes with multiple exit options, which the state believes would lead to drop-outs. Tamil Nadu thinks the NEP will be disadvantageous to students from marginalised sections.
What has prompted the latest confrontation between the Union and Tamil Nadu governments?
On February 15, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said states like Tamil Nadu that didn’t implement NEP 2020 won’t get funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme. This is the root cause of the renewed debate on the language issue and an intense war of words between the Tamil Nadu and Union governments.
While hitting back at Pradhan for his comments, Chief Minister M K Stalin asserted that Tamil Nadu would not succumb to the Centre’s pressure and implement the three-language formula just to get funds. Stalin said TN wasn’t opposed to anyone learning Hindi but was only fighting its imposition. He also sought to take things to a different level by seeking to know what would happen if Tamil Nadu refused to pay taxes to the Centre.
Where do political parties stand on the issue?
All major political parties in Tamil Nadu except the BJP support the continuation of the two-language policy. The saffron party is the only one that favours the three-language formula, saying students in state government schools should be allowed to learn an Indian language much like counterparts in CBSE schools. The party believes the opposition to the three-language formula is a flawed approach, as the NEP doesn’t say Hindi should be made compulsory in schools.