CHENNAI: VIT Chancellor G Viswanathan on Wednesday called for constructive dialogue between the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government to resolve the long-standing language issue, asserting that English cannot be treated as a foreign language in India.
Speaking at the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Tamil scholar Maraimalai Adigal in Chennai, Viswanathan said the language issue, which has continued for nearly 90 years, should be settled through discussions rather than prolonged confrontation.
School Education Minister Rajmohan and MDMK General Secretary Vaiko were among those who attended the event. Viswanathan said Tamil Nadu should strive to achieve higher education standards comparable to those in Europe and the United States. He urged governments to increase funding for higher education to improve its quality and global competitiveness.
Arguing that English has become an integral part of India's administrative and educational framework, he said more states use English as an official language than Hindi, making it unacceptable to describe English as a foreign language. He also alleged that the CBSE had created confusion over the implementation of compulsory Hindi in schools.
School Education Minister Rajmohan paid tribute to Maraimalai Adigal, saying the Tamil scholar's contributions to the development of the language would continue to inspire future generations.
MDMK General Secretary Vaiko reiterated his opposition to any attempt to impose Hindi, saying such a move would threaten the country's unity. He warned that any effort by the Centre to force Hindi on non-Hindi-speaking states would have serious consequences for India's federal structure.
During the function, a book titled Maraimalai Adigal and His Works was released.