Chief Minister M.K. Stalin speaks at an event in Cuddalore district on February 21, 2025.
| Photo Credit: S.S. Kumar
Hitting out at Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for seeking to “impose Hindi”, camouflaging it under the National Education Policy’s (NEP 2020) three-language policy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday (February 21, 2025) declared he would never allow anything detrimental to the State.
“So long as DMK and I, Muthvel Karunanidhi Stalin, exist, no activity against Tamil and Tamil Nadu can ever enter this soil,” he said at an official function in Cuddalore. Mr. Stalin’s reaction came in response to Mr. Pradhan’s letter to him earlier in the day urging the State government to “rise above politics” and prioritise policies that empower students with knowledge, skills and opportunities for the future.
Accusing the Centre of trying to promote Hindi across the country in the guise of development of vernacular language, Mr. Stalin said, “You are accusing us of doing politics over the NEP. But it is the Centre which is doing politics by promoting Hindi in a country where people speak different languages. You play politics with language and religion and then accuse others.”
Warning the Centre not to trigger the sentiments of Tamils, Mr. Stalin said, “Don’t throw stones at a beehive and also don’t prompt Tamils to show their distinct traits. I will not allow efforts to impose Hindi in Tamil Nadu.”
The Chief Minister said, “In true federal concept, the Union government should be happy that Tamil Nadu was fast progressing. But unfortunately, it was refusing to allot funds which are rightfully due to the State.”
‘Unique needs’
Mr. Pradhan had argued that Tamil Nadu’s continued opposition to the NEP “for political reasons” deprived students, teachers and educational institutions of immense opportunities and resources that the policy offered. “The policy is designed to be flexible, allowing States to customise its implementation to suit their unique educational needs. Moreover, Centrally-supported programmes such as Samagra Shiksha are aligned with the NEP 2020. Also, PM SHRI schools have been conceptualised to be NEP exemplar schools,” he said.
Why is the three-language policy being opposed in Tamil Nadu?
| Video Credit:
Thamodharan B.
“It is inappropriate for the State to view the NEP 2020 with a myopic vision and spin progressive educational reforms into threats to sustain their political narratives. The letter sent (by Mr. Stalin) to the Prime Minister is a complete negation of the spirit of cooperative federalism, promoted by the Modi government. The policy does not advocate the imposition of any language,” he said. Many non-BJP States have implemented the progressive polices of the NEP despite political differences.”
“The NEP 2020 aims to broaden the horizon, not narrow them,” Mr. Pradhan said. He traced steps taken by the Modi government to promote Tamil through various schemes and programmes such as the Kashi Tamil Sangamam and the Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam. He emphasised that one of the core objectives of the NEP was to revive and strengthen the teaching of Indian languages, including Tamil, which had been gradually sidelined in formal education over decades.
Published – February 21, 2025 10:05 pm IST