CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the Parliamentary panel’s alleged recommendation to make Hindi mandatory in IITs, IIMs and AIIMS institutions. He cited media reports that said the panel recommended that Hindi replace English as the compulsory medium of instruction in Union government-run higher education institutions IITs, IIMs, AIIMS and Central universities.
The panel, led by Home Minister Amit Shah, also recommended Hindi as the medium of instruction in all technical and non-technical institutions, and all Union government institutions including Kendriya Vidyalayas. It also recommended that English be removed as a compulsory paper in recruitment exams, and that studying Hindi be part of the eligibility criteria for certain jobs.
Stalin said these recommendations are against the federal principles of the Constitution and will harm the multi-lingual fabric of the nation. He added that in India, there are fewer Hindi speakers than people who don’t speak the language.
The chief minister recalled that former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru promised not to impose Hindi, but gave an assurance that “English will continue to be one of the official languages as long as the non-Hindi-speaking people want”. Resolutions were passed in 1968 and 1976 on official languages, ensuring the use of both English and Hindi in Union government services, Stalin recalled, and said this must remain the cornerstone of all discussions on official language.
“The recent attempts to impose Hindi are impractical and divisive, and put non-Hindi-speaking people at a very disadvantageous position in many respects. This will not be acceptable not only to Tamil Nadu but also to any State that respects and values their mother tongue,” Stalin wrote. He urged the Union government to include all languages, including Tamil, in the Eighth Schedule, as official languages, and promote education and employment for speakers of all languages.