Hyderabad:
The Telangana government has said Telugu will be made mandatory for all schools, including those affiliated with the centre-administered CBSE, as part of a push to ensure students learn their mother tongue or, in case of students from outside the state, the regional language.
The state also said the syllabus for Class IX and X students will be pared down – from ‘standard Telugu’ to a ‘simple Telugu’, starting from 2025/26 for the former and 2026/27 for the latter.
The latter is expected to be useful for students whose mother tongue is not Telugu.
The order comes amid a ‘language war‘ brewing between neighbouring Tamil Nadu and the BJP-led central government over the three-language policy detailed in the National Education Policy.
Tamil Nadu’s ‘Language War’
Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK has objected, vociferously, to a provision in the NEP that says students must learn a third language of their choice, arguing it amounts to ‘Hindi imposition’. The centre, however, has argued no student will be made to learn a language they do not wish to, including Hindi.
The state has a two-language policy, i.e., students learn English and Tamil, something Education Minister Anbil Mahesh told NDTV is “enough”, considering its record in developing high-achievers in STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Management, subjects.
And Tamil Nadu and the southern states have, historically, been suspicious of the central government (irrespective of the party in power) trying to ‘impose’ the use of Hindi.
Protests in Tamil Nadu even led to violent riots in the 1930s and ’60s.
Centre vs Stalins On 3-Language Row
This latest round of protests flared up after comments by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan provoked a strong response from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and his deputy, Udhayanidhi Stalin, as well as other Tamil leaders, such as actor-politician Kamal Haasan.
Mr Pradhan had said the state would not receive Rs 2,400 crore in funds from the centre, unless it adopts the NEP, including the switch to a three-language system. He said the centre is “committed” to its the new policy, for which “… there are certain conditions to be met”.
READ | “No Question Of Imposing Language But…”: Union Education Minister
The Education Minister’s remarks were swiftly slammed as “blackmail” by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, who also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to flag the “direct violation of cooperative federalism” and the adverse impact on students and schools by withholding funds.
READ | “Tamil Nadu Ready For Language War”: Stalin Jr Amid Row Over Hindi
And, last week, Udhayanidhi Stalin warned non-Hindi speaking states they could “lose their mother tongue” if they accepted ‘Hindi imposition’. He also declared that Tamil Nadu stands ready for another ‘language war’, a phrase Tamil politicians have used often in this context.
He also reminded the BJP that “this is a Dravidian land… the land of Periyar” and said, “The last time you tried to take away the rights of the Tamil people, they started ‘GoBackModi’. If you try again… this time the voice will be ‘Get out, Modi’…”
What Dharmendra Pradhan Said
Speaking to NDTV, Mr Pradhan countered the DMK leaders’ attacks by accusing the Tamil party of creating a “false narrative” and that the state had, in fact, agreed to implement the new policy before made a U-turn later for political reasons.
READ | “Creating Anti-Delhi Narrative”: Education Minister On MK Stalin
“Nowhere in the NEP have we suggested there will be an imposition of any particular language in any particular state… unnecessarily a political line has been taken (by the Tamil Nadu government).”
BJP’s Response
The BJP, meanwhile, has made it clear it (at least the party’s state unit has) will not back down; a door-to-door campaign to promote the three-language formula will begin March 1.
READ | BJP To Launch Campaign On 3-Language Policy In Tamil Nadu
Ahead of the programme’s launch, the party’s state boss, K Annamalai accusing the DMK of sticking to an “outdated” policy from the 1960s. “The world is developing rapidly. And what is the point of imposing your outdated policy of the 1960s on the children of Tamil Nadu?” he said
The push is being seen as part of its ongoing scramble for a foothold in the Tamil political landscape. The party has historically never managed to win over Tamil voters.
In 2016 it contested all 234 seats but won zero. It set its sights lower in 2021, contesting just 20. It won four. The Lok Sabha poll record is worse – zero seats in 2019 and 2024.
Tamil Nadu will vote for a new government next year and the ‘Hindi imposition’ issue is likely to rumble on till then, becoming a key campaign issue.
With input from agencies
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