The language war initiated by the Tamil Nadu government over the alleged imposition of Hindi, courtesy of the three-language formula prescribed in the Centre’s National Education Policy, has only sharpened the North-South divide.
The MK Stalin government has accused the Centre of delaying disbursement of funds under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan because of the state’s failure to accept the NEP, while the Centre has denied any attempt to impose Hindi.
Both sides have only hardened their stance, with the latest flashpoint being the Tamil Nadu government dropping the rupee symbol in the state budget, allegedly because it uses the Devanagari script, and using the term ‘ru’ in Tamil instead. This resulted in a slanging match between the DMK leaders and the Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, who dubbed the state’s move secessionist.
The NDA ally and Jana Sena Party chief, Pawan Kalyan, also joined the issue by mocking Tamil Nadu for opposing the three-language formula but allowing Tamil films to be dubbed in Hindi. This was met by a sharp response from the DMK.
The war of words between Tamil Nadu and the Centre is a throwback to the language agitation of the fifties and sixties when the state objected to the alleged imposition of Hindi by the ‘North Indian’ Centre.
While the CBSE and private schools in the state do offer three languages to their students, state schools have consistently followed the two-language formula of English and Tamil. The state government’s contention is that any change in the current system will require an overhaul of infrastructure and facilities.
Tamil Nadu’s objection to the delimitation exercise planned by the Centre also has its origins in the language controversy. The DMK sees it as an attempt to reward Hindi speaking states, which are the core constituency of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.
The southern states have performed well in controlling population, and the fear is that they will be penalised by a reduction in seats, while the northern states, which have fared poorly in the population index, will see an increase in constituencies.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s assurance that southern states will not lose a single seat rings hollow for the DMK because there is no guarantee that there will not be an increase in constituencies in the northern states. Thus, the panic reaction with Stalin and his deputy, Udayanidhi Stalin, urging married couples to have children immediately and in large numbers.
A similar plea was made by Andhra chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, though his reasoning was that the state had a greying population and there was a need for a younger demographic. The Tamil Nadu chief minister’s decision to convene a meeting of seven Opposition-ruled states on March 22 to oppose delimitation has struck a chord, and even Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal, which has so far done little to topple the BJP apple cart, has expressed its willingness to attend the meet.
All in all, there is no end in sight to the language war that has only increased tensions with the DMK cadres going on a spree to blacken Hindi signs at central government institutions. India’s rich linguistic tradition cannot be held hostage to petty regional considerations.
