NEW DELHI: As tension escalates between the Tamil Nadu government and the Centre over the alleged imposition of Hindi through the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the Congress, an ally of ruling DMK appears to be walking a tightrope.
While the DMK stepped up the attack on Monday, saying it would never accept the NEP or any form of Hindi imposition even if the party had to lose power, the Congress has adopted a measured approach: ‘Hindi can be learnt by choice but not by imposition’.
The DMK also asked the Centre if it applied the model in any of the Northern states.
Speaking to this newspaper, Congress whip in the Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore accused the Centre of sparking the standoff by threatening to withhold central funds until the state accepted NEP. “Our party respects all languages and we are against all kinds of language imposition. Hindi can be learnt by choice but not by imposition”, clarified the Virudhunagar MP.
Tagore said Tamil Nadu has been following the two-language policy for several years, and the Congress has always supported the government. “The reason for the ongoing standoff is the Union education minister’s statement that funds will be withheld until Tamil Nadu accepts NEP. The NEP is an RSS project and the Centre is trying to impose it,” the Congress leader said.
However, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram appears to be on the same page with the DMK on the two language policy in which students are taught English and Tamil.
“The three language curriculum of the NEP is nothing but imposition of Hindi surreptitiously. Tamil Nadu is well served with a two language curriculum. TN will resist,” he posted on X.
In an opinion piece for a daily, Congress MP P Chidambaram has criticised the Centre saying, while the three language formula is enforced in non-Hindi speaking states, it is not implemented in Hindi-speaking states. “It is a matter of record that government schools in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Haryana follow effectively a one-language policy of only Hindi,” he wrote.
While the anti-Hindi agitations in Tamil Nadu date back to the 1930s, a section of Congress leaders told this newspaper that Congress cannot take an antagonist approach towards the Hindi language.
“We are a national party and we are not of the view that Hindi shouldn’t be taught. The DMK and Congress have different views on this,” a senior leader said.
While the issue may come up in the upcoming Parliament session on March 10, Congress said it wouldn’t create any rift between the allies. “Though we are allies, we can have different positions on certain issues and we respect that,” said a leader.