Maintaining that it is against imposition of any language, Tamil Nadu government on Friday asserted that there was no change in the two language policy of Tamil and English in the state and it won’t implement the National Education Policy (NEP) since it indirectly “imposes” Hindi.
Replying to the debate on Demands for Grants, Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy said the government wasn’t against students or individuals learning any language but was only opposing their imposition. He also said the government has launched an initiative to help students of state-funded universities to learn several foreign languages, including German and French.
“Since the days of (C N) Anna(durai), Tamil Nadu has been following two language policy. We learn Tamil because it is our mother tongue and English is to interact with the world. Since we decided on a two language policy which includes the international language of English, we don’t find the need to learn other languages, including Hindi,” the minister said.
He also quoted a speech made by Annadurai saying one cannot create separate entrances for big cats and small cats in their homes to drive home his point that Tamils need not learn Hindi since they learn English, which is spoken across the world.
Alleging that Hindi was being imposed in several ways, Ponmudy cited the recent circular from FSSAI asking state-run cooperatives in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to add the word ‘dahi’ in curd packets sold by them. “This is how they impose Hindi. Today, they say curd should be called dahi and tomorrow they might say food should be known as khana. This is the worst form of imposition of a language,” the minister said.
Ponmudy also added that the FSSAI withdrew the order only after Chief Minister M K Stalin said Tamil Nadu will not implement the directive. On NEP, Ponmudy said the state government decided against implementing it in Tamil Nadu since “we believe it indirectly imposes Hindi.”
The minister said the state government has constituted a committee to draft an exclusive State Education Policy for Tamil Nadu that would reflect the historical legacy, present situation and future aspirations of the people living in the region. The DMK government feels a three-language policy, conducting public exams for third, fifth, and eighth standards, and a four-year degree program is not in line with the current education model, including the two-language policy of Tamil and English which successive governments have followed since 1968.