CPI(M) leader opposes exclusion of 'Mahl', 'Arabic' languages from Lakshadweep schools

John Brittas wrote to the Modi government protesting against the exclusion of Mahl and Arabic as optional languages from schools in Lakshadweep while implementing the contentious National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

New Delhi: CPI(M) Rajya Sabha floor leader John Brittas on Thursday wrote to the Modi government protesting against the exclusion of Mahl and Arabic as optional languages from schools in Lakshadweep while implementing the contentious National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

He said Mahl, a distinct language with its own script and literary heritage, and Arabic are "integral" to Lakshadweep while warning that if discarded in the name of reforms, what one would be witnessing is "not progress but cultural erasure".

In his letter to Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, he urged the government to reconsider the decision to exclude the two languages and put on hold the implementation of NEP 2020 until "proper consultations" are undertaken with state governments, students, teachers, local bodies and elected representatives.

Brittas said it is a "matter of relief that the Kerala High Court has issued an interim stay on the exclusion and asked the government to "review and revoke" the "controversial decision" without waiting for the final outcome of judicial proceedings, recognising the genuine concerns of the local community and Constitutional obligation to protect linguistic and cultural rights.

He said exclusion of these two languages, which are "intrinsically tied to the identity, heritage, and future aspirations" of the island’s people, is "not only unjust but also emblematic of the broader flaws inherent in the top-down imposition" of the NEP.

He said Mahl is not merely a dialect but a distinct language, which is "deeply embedded" in the lives of people in Lakshadweep's Minicoy, but it has been excluded. "Such a move effectively erases the cultural and linguistic roots of an entire community. The NEP’s professed emphasis on mother tongue-based education and inclusion rings hollow when it fails to accommodate the genuine linguistic realities of a region," he said.

On Arabic, he said the language holds "profound religious, academic, and occupational significance", particularly in a region where a considerable number of residents are expatriates.

"Removing it from the formal education system not only disrupts academic continuity - especially since schools in Lakshadweep follow the Kerala State syllabus, which includes Arabic - but also strikes at the heart of a linguistic and cultural ecosystem nurtured over generations. Such selective imposition is indicative of a broader disregard for minority identities," he said.

He said the entire process of implementing NEP 2020 in Lakshadweep, including the selection of languages, has been "undertaken without any study, consultation with local communities, or recognition of their linguistic and cultural distinctiveness" and this reflects the "deeper, structural problems" with the NEP itself.

"Linguistic justice and cultural dignity must not be sacrificed at the altar of poorly conceived reforms...NEP 2020 pushes a homogenised, centralised framework onto a country celebrated for its linguistic and cultural diversity. This approach appears not just disconnected, but disturbingly colonial in spirit. An education system in a diverse democracy like ours cannot be governed by a 'one size fits all' policy driven by ideological or homogenising impulses," he said.