Language is a sensitive issue in India. Several states, including Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu based on language. Often, regional social and political parties snowball the issue due to their political convenience. They often connect it with identity politics. Nowadays, Tamil Nadu is in news after Chief Minister MK Stalin made a strong statement by saying he was "ready" for "another language war". His statement comes in the wake of the National Education Policy (NEP) which advocates a three-language policy across the country.
What is Tamil Nadu's 'another language war'?
Tamil Nadu has historically been a stronghold of the Dravidian movement, which stresses the distinct cultural and linguistic identity of the Tamil people. Tamil Nadu has a long history of resisting the imposition of Hindi. The regional parties - AIADMK, DMK and others see the imposition of Hindi as a threat to the Tamil language. 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.
However, the Centre government always rejects the allegation of Hindi imposition, saying promoting Hindi doesn't mean undermining regional language.
Why is Tamil Nadu opposing NEP’s three-language policy?
The Tamil Nadu government led by MK Stalin does not want to include Hindi in its education system. The three-language policy emerged as a bone of contention between the NDA-led Centre and the Tamil Nadu government in light of the National Education Policy (NEP). The three-language formula, first introduced in the NEP of 1968, mandated the teaching of Hindi as a language in non-Hindi-speaking States, which triggered protests. Later, following strong opposition to the policy, Tamil Nadu adopted a two-language policy of teaching Tamil and English in its government schools. Now, the Centre included Hindi again in the NEP 2020, which again caused a stir in the state. However, the Centre specifies that the languages to be learnt will be the choice of states.
What is the stand of the Centre?
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has dismissed the Tamil Nadu chief minister's allegation, terming it a 'politics'. The Union Minister said the three-language formula did not impose Hindi on students and that the state government could pick any three Indian languages for school education.
Pradhan attacked Stalin accusing him of "spinning progressive reforms into threats to sustain political narratives".
Stalin, also DMK president, said he would not permit any activities inimical to the Tamil language, the state and its people, on the soil, so long as he and his DMK existed.
(With agencies inputs)