Costly Confrontation

The bitter dispute between the Union government and Tamil Nadu over the three-language policy is related to the principles of federalism and linguistic identity.

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Tamil Nadu's steadfast opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, particularly its language provisions, has allegedly resulted in the withholding of over Rs 2,152 crore in education funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme by the Centre.

Tamil Nadu's resistance to the three-language formula is rooted in history. The state has witnessed major anti-Hindi agitations in the past, from the 1930s protests against Rajaji's move to introduce Hindi in schools to the violent demonstrations of 1965 that resulted in the deaths of dozens of protesters. For a long time, Tamil Nadu has maintained a strict two-language policy—Tamil and English—which it sees as essential to preserving its linguistic and cultural heritage.

Successive Dravidian governments, whether DMK or AIADMK, have remained firm on this stance.

The Centre insists that the NEP 2020 does not force any state to adopt Hindi, only that students must learn at least two Indian languages alongside English. In theory, this offers flexibility. But in practice, Tamil Nadu perceives it as a backdoor attempt to promote Hindi.