Taking a stand against centralisation of policies

The issue of Hindi imposition has been a longstanding point of contention between the Union government and the government of Tamil Nadu.

- Salem Dharanidharan

The state has consistently voiced its concerns over the imposition of Hindi since the 1930s. But, the recent resurgence of the debate can be traced to the Union government's decision to withhold ₹2,153 crore due to Tamil Nadu's department of school education under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan cited Tamil Nadu's refusal to fully endorse the National Education Policy (NEP) as the reason. Chief minister MK Stalin condemned the denial of funds, terming it pressurising Tamil Nadu into compliance.

The Union government's decision to withhold funds intended for primary education raises concerns regarding leveraging of financial allocations to advance its political agenda. It strikes at the heart of India's democratic and federal structure. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has voiced well-founded reservations against the NEP, particularly over its impact on state autonomy.

First, the NEP's one-size-fits-all approach is fundamentally flawed for a country as diverse as India. India's diversity is not just cultural and linguistic, but also developmental. For instance, Tamil Nadu has 4,000 doctors per million inhabitants, compared to Gujarat's 750 and Bihar's 637. In terms of economic disparities, in 2023, 5.8% of the population in Tamil Nadu lived below the poverty line, whereas the figures for Gujarat and Bihar stood at 21.8% and 23.3%, respectively.