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Centre steps in to allay 'Hindi imposition' fears, says no decision yet on three-language policy
Parties in Tamil Nadu including the DMK on Saturday strongly opposed the three language formula's continuation proposed in the draft National Education Policy alleging it was tantamount to 'thrusting' Hindi and wanted it junked.
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Chennai
The Centre on Saturday dismissed apprehensions over the three language formula in the wake of the draft new education policy and said there was no move to impose any language on anyone.
"Only a report has been submitted on the new education policy. Government has not taken any decision on it. It has not even considered it and therefore the misunderstanding that the government has decided on the new education policy is not true."
"After we will get the public feedback, then only it will come up before the government. More importantly, the Modi government has always promoted all Indian languages and therefore there is no case of or intention of imposing any language on anybody. We want to promote all Indian languages," Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told the media.
His comments came after a controversy erupted in Tamil Nadu over the draft education policy recommendation favouring a three language formula in school education. Political parties in the state have warned of a language war on the issue.
"It is a draft prepared by the committee on which a decision will be taken only after we get the public feedback," he said.
Tamil leaders warn of protests
Vaiko, Trichy Siva and TTV Dhinakaran through different mediums registered the backdoor entry of Hindi in Tamil Nadu through New Education Policy.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) Chief Vaiko has issued a statement condemning the New Education Policy (NEP) that propounds trilingual course in the lines of Kasturirangan panel's recommendation.
His press release recounted former Prime Minister Jawahar Nehru's rejection of Kasturirangan recommendation on grounds of invading regional ethos.Vaiko threatened revisiting of 1965's anti-Hindi protests if PM Modi tries to toy with regional sentiments.
DMK MP Trichy Siva and AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran too vehemently made their condemnation known.Â
Siva said DMK would foil Centre's attempt to thrust Hindi into Tamil Nadu, there is just two-language course, Tamil and English. He too like Vaiko invoked the 1965 anti-Hindi riots and requested the government to take a look at that history.
TTV Dhinakaran tweeted that Hindi imposition could disfigure the plurality of India and strongly dissuaded the Centre to shelve its plan of making Hindi mandatory in schools.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram in a series of tweets in Tamil said: "what is the meaning of three language formula in schools? The meaning is they will make Hindi a compulsory subject..."
In another tweet, he said "If Hindi language is a compulsory subject its import is imposition of Hindi."
"The BJP government's real face is beginning to emerge..." he also tweeted.
Meanwhile, "#StopHindiImposition, #TNAgainstHindiImposition trended on the microblogging site Twitter.
The three language formula which bats for Hindi from "pre-school to class 12 was a big shocker," and the recommendation would "divide" the country, DMK chief MK Stalin said.
The draft policy prepared by a panel led by eminent scientist K Kasturirangan was unveiled on Friday.
Recalling the anti-Hindi agitations beginning as early as 1937 in Tamil Nadu, the DMK leader in a statement here said since 1968 the State was following the two-language formula of learning only Tamil and English.
The DMK would never tolerate imposition of Hindi and strongly oppose it. "Still, I believe that the Central BJP government will not make way for another language stir," he said.
The Dravidian party also said recommendations like "Gurukula" mode of education, teaching Sanskrit and sending Hindi teachers from Hindi speaking States to non-Hindi speaking States would in due course cause a "big danger" to non-Hindi speaking people.
The recommendations, the DMK said rather than lifting the standards of education has led to doubts that it had "ulterior motives" like imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking States and thrusting Sanskrit in schools.
Recalling Jawaharlal Nehru's assurance that English would continue to be in use till such time desired by non-Hindi speaking States, he also pointed out that the State had enacted years ago a Compulsory Tamil Learning Act.
Demanding the Centre to reject the draft recommendations which was "imposition," of Hindi under the garb of three-language formula, he said his party MPs would voice their strong opposition in Parliament as soon as the House was convened.
Taking potshots at the AIADMK for being what it called a "yes master," to the Centre, he wanted Chief Minister K Palaniswami to strongly oppose it and if not remove the words "Anna," and "Dravida," from his party's name.
The BJP must never even dream to implement three language formula in Tamil Nadu and such a "greedy dream," would lead to "catastrophic," consequences for them, he said.
Parties including the CPI and BJP's ally in the Lok Sabha polls, the PMK too alleged the recommendation on the three language formula was "imposition of Hindi" and wanted scrapping it.
Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan said "be it language or a project, if we do not like that, it should not be forced on us." He said his party would pursue legal options against it.
The Tamil Nadu government said it would continue with the two-language formula, seeking to cool frayed tempers.
Education Minister KA Sengottaiyan told a local news channel: "There will be no deviation from the two-language formula followed in Tamil Nadu. Only Tamil and English will continue to be taught in our State."
The draft National Education Policy, 2019 available on the government website said the three-language formula will need to be implemented in its spirit throughout the country, promoting multilingual communicative abilities for a multilingual country.
Schools in Hindi speaking areas should also offer and teach Indian languages from other parts of India, it said.
The three language formula, followed since the adoption of the National Policy on Education 1968 and endorsed in subsequent years will be continued.
Since research now clearly showed that children picked up languages quickly between the ages of 2 and 8, and moreover that multilingualism has great cognitive benefits to students, children will now be immersed in three languages early on, starting from the foundational stage onwards, it said.
"...students who wish to change one of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6, so long as the study of three languages by students in the Hindi-speaking states would continue to include Hindi and English and one of the modern Indian languages from other parts of India, ...
while the study of languages by students in the non-Hindi-speaking states would include the regional language, Hindi and English."
Also, every student will take a fun course on "The Languages of India" sometime in Grades 6-8.
The draft policy said India also has "an extremely rich literature in other classical languages, including classical Tamil, as well as classical Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia, in addition to Pali, Persian, and Prakrit; these classical languages and their literatures too must be preserved for their richness and for the pleasure and enrichment of posterity."
A choice of foreign languages like French and German, would be offered and available to interested students to choose as electives during secondary school.Â
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