‘Hindi Imposition in Disguise’: Stalin Slams Centre Over ‘Three-Language Policy’

CHENNAI:
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the Union government and the CBSE over the proposed implementation of the three-language policy from Class 6 in the 2026–27 academic year, terming it a “politically motivated move” that undermines India’s linguistic diversity.

The policy, introduced under the National Education Policy 2020, has drawn strong opposition from Tamil Nadu, which has consistently resisted any form of compulsory Hindi learning.

In a strongly-worded statement, Stalin said the move was not a routine educational reform but a “deeply concerning attempt to impose Hindi under the guise of promoting Indian languages”.

He alleged that the BJP-led NDA government was systematically prioritising Hindi over other regional languages, thereby eroding the country’s rich linguistic heritage.

“The so-called three-language policy is, in reality, an attempt to expand Hindi in non-Hindi-speaking states. For students in southern states, this is nothing but compulsory Hindi,” Stalin said.

He questioned the absence of reciprocity, asking whether students in Hindi-speaking states would be mandated to learn Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, or Marathi.

Highlighting what he termed “double standards”, Stalin pointed out that the Centre had failed to make Tamil compulsory in Kendriya Vidyalaya schools and had not appointed adequate Tamil teachers.

“The same government now seeks to lecture states on promoting Indian languages. This is not responsibility — it is the height of hypocrisy,” he said.

The Chief Minister also raised concerns over the lack of infrastructure, trained teachers, and financial planning to implement the policy effectively.

He questioned whether the Centre had assessed the ground realities, including teacher availability and institutional capacity.

Stalin warned that the policy could widen inequalities between states by giving Hindi-speaking students a structural advantage in higher education and employment. He stressed that the issue was not merely about language, but about federalism, fairness, and equal opportunity.

At a time when students need to be equipped with skills in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, animation, visual effects, gaming, and comics, Stalin argued that imposing additional language burdens would hinder their progress. He further accused the Centre of ignoring legitimate and democratic concerns raised by states, calling the move “an affront to cooperative federalism and a direct insult to the linguistic identity of millions of Indians”.