What's Behind the Tussle Over Hindi Between Modi Govt and Tamil Nadu State?

BJP's goal of making it a link language in India runs up against identity concerns

- Rohini Mohan

BENGALURU - Mrs Krishnaveni, 32, has a secret: She has been learning Hindi from a neighbourhood tutor.

The Tamil speaker wanted to pick up Hindi to better converse with the college students she cooks dinner for. But she was hesitant to admit it, following the revival of a decades-old quarrel between the Tamil Nadu government and the federal government over the language.

"I live in Chennai, in Tamil Nadu. I don't want to offend anyone during a sensitive time," said the domestic worker. She asked to be identified by only her first name.

Tamil and English are the only languages offered as subjects by state-run Tamil-medium schools like the one Mrs Krishnaveni attended when she was growing up.

That could change, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi implementing a new National Education Policy (NEP) that prescribes a three-language policy for schools across India.

The policy seeks to promote multilingualism, and Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants to promote Hindi over English as a link language in the country, which has 22 official languages and 19,500 dialects.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has refused to implement the three-language formula, deeming it yet another veiled attempt by the federal government to impose Hindi on the Tamil-speaking state.

Both states and the central government can enact education policies in federal India.

In response, India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan indicated on Feb 19 that Tamil Nadu would not receive 20 billion rupees (S$309 million) in state education funding until it adopted the NEP in its entirety and implemented the three-language policy.

Withholding the funds will impact four million students and 32,000 teachers in the state, said Tamil Nadu Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi.

The language debate reveals a sharpening power tussle between the federal and state governments in India.