New Delhi, Feb 21: Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, said that the National Education Policy does not force any language on students. However, there is a problem with students depending too much on foreign languages, which reduces their understanding of their own native languages and cultural roots. The new policy tries to correct this, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in a letter to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.

The NEP, according to Pradhan, allows students to choose the language of instruction, which is a key aspect of the policy. On the other hand, he criticizes the DMK's opposition to the policy, accusing them of using it for political purposes rather than engaging with it on its merits.

The NEP or National Education Policy 2020 supports linguistic freedom. This means students can continue to learn in the language they prefer.

Highly inappropriate for a State to view NEP 2020 with a myopic vision and use threats to sustain political narratives.

Hon’ble PM @narendramodi ji’s govt. is fully committed to promote and popularise the eternal Tamil culture and language globally. I humbly appeal to not… pic.twitter.com/aw06cVCyAP

— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) February 21, 2025

Mr. Pradhan feels that the DMK is looking at the NEP in a narrow way and is turning the positive reforms of the policy into threats just to maintain their political agenda.

Mr Pradhan also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Tamil language is eternal" comment in Chennai in May 2022, and wrote, "The Modi government is fully committed to promoting and popularising Tamil culture and language globally. He then adds a request, asking people not to turn education into a political issue.

The letter is the latest in a 'language war' brewing between the southern state and the centre over the 'imposition of Hindi' - a new flashpoint over a longstanding and sensitive issue.

It follows Mr Stalin's appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi 24 hours earlier; the Tamil leader had complained about Dharmendra Pradhan warning the state to comply with the NEP's three-language policy or forfeit release of education sector-related funds from the centre.

Mr Stalin - who on Sunday said Mr Pradhan was trying to "blackmail" the state into submitting to 'Hindi imposition' by stopping transfer of funds also insisted on Tamil Nadu's two-language formula. The formula has been in place since 1967 and primarily supports Tamil and English in education, rather than the Hindi-based three-language formula recommended in the NEP.

Stalin's government is firm in its stance that it will not compromise on the two-language policy and has criticized the center's efforts to introduce Hindi as part of the three-language formula, seeing it as an imposition.

Role of Hindi in South

Historically,Tamil Nadu and other southern states have had strong resistance to the imposition of Hindi as the sole national language. This resistance can be traced back to the 1930s and 1960s, when language politics became a major point of contention between the central government and the southern states, particularly Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu's two-language policy has been a significant part of the state's education system for decades. By focusing on Tamil and English, the state emphasizes both cultural preservation and global engagement.

"Since 1967 Tamil Nadu has had this two-language policy and Tamil and English is more than enough for us. We have already achieved a lot," he said, pointing to the state's track record in training high-achievers in STEM, or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

But the Education Policy of 2020 proposes a three-language policy, one of which is Hindi. and the Tamil Nadu government has declared this to be an attempt to impose the language.

BJP's New Language Campaign

The BJP is gearing up its three-language push in the state, which will vote in an Assembly election next year. The saffron party will launch a campaign from March 1.Despite contesting the majority of seats in 2016 and securing only a few in 2021, it appears they are aiming to push harder in 2026, with state chief K Annamalai taking an aggressive stance against the DMK's policies.

Ahead of the launch and the 2026 poll, BJP state chief, K Annamalai, has also hit out at the DMK, accusing it of sticking to an "outdated" policy from the 1960s.

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