CHENNAI: The DMK’s students’ wing will stage a protest in New Delhi to show its displeasure against the proposed UGC’s draft regulations, Chief Minister MK Stalin said on Saturday.
Speaking at a public meeting after commemorating Tamil language martyrs, Stalin said the union government is undermining federal principles and the battle to protect the Tamil language and the state’s rights is still going on.
Stalin also highlighted the DMK’s role in safeguarding Tamil Nadu’s two-language policy since 1967. “The introduction of the three-language policy and the National Education Policy (NEP) are blatant attempts to impose Hindi and Sanskrit on non-Hindi-speaking states,” he said.
Criticising the union government for introducing UGC’s draft regulations, Stalin said Tamil Nadu was the first state to adopt a resolution against them in the Assembly. “Universities are established by states, so the authority to govern them should also rest with the states. However, the union government continues to encroach upon state’s rights,” he said.
Stalin accused the union government of withholding disaster relief funds, reducing education department allocations and neglecting Tamil Nadu in the union budget. “Instead of fulfilling its responsibilities, the union government focuses on imposing Hindi, promoting Sanskrit names and introducing policies like NEET, which harm our students,” Stalin alleged. He cited the recent instances of “Hindi imposition”, including the celebration of “Hindi Month” at the Doordarshan Kendra in Tamil Nadu and the recommendation to make Hindi the medium of instruction in IITs and IIMs.