The language battle from Tamil Nadu has found resonance in Maharashtra, with Raj Thackeray, the chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, saying the state ought to learn from the southern states about opposing the three-language structure of the National Education Policy and the alleged imposition of Hindi.
“Have you seen the southern states? Have you seen Tamil Nadu? See how they have opposed Hindi language,’ said Mr Thackeray., whose party had long stood for Maratha pride and advocated the use of the language across the state.
“What is going on in Maharashtra? We are the ones who do not react… Every state’s language should be respected,” he said, urging his party workers to ensure that Marathi is spoken in Mumbai.
Recently, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had claimed that 25 Indian languages, including Marathi, had suffered because several states adopted Hindi.
His son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, had even given a list of languages that are on the verge of dying out for lack of use.
The DMK insists that its opposition to the three-language policy is based on this. The National Education Policy, the party has alleged, is meant to enforce a cultural homogenization that will rob India of its diversity and the southern states of their distinct cultural identity.
The state has argued that its current two-language formula – Tamil and English — serves it well and underscored that it is the second-largest contributor to the country’s economy.
The BJP has also argued the National Education Policy has a bouquet of languages other than Hindi for the third option and insisted that it does not force a student to study Hindi. The party has also maintained that the third language will help people travelling to other states.
Madhya Pradesh, another BJP-ruled state, meanwhile plans to offer additional optional languages including Bengali, Marathi, Telegu, Tamil Gujarati and Punjabi in colleges.
While it is an ambitious plan, there is no word on faculty recruitment or on minimum enrolment required to roll this out.
Inder Singh Parmar, the Higher Education Minister of Madhya Pradesh, said this will bring about “a hub of linguistic diversity”.
The DMK has kept up the pressure on the Central government, demanding the release of funds withheld for not accepting the National Education Policy.
The education system in Tamil Nadu is number one in India. But they want to kill Macaulay model of education and go back to the Vedic system of education, said DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan.
