Chennai: The Centre is not imposing any language on any state, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Sunday. Those who claim that the three language policy is being thrust on states are politically motivated, he said on Sunday.
“We are not imposing any language on anybody. For Class 1 and 2, there will be two language formula. One will be mother tongue. Here (in Tamil Nadu), it will be the Tamil language. Government of India’s condition is that you have to teach in Tamil in primary school. You can teach another language that is of your choice,” Dharmendra said.
The minister was speaking to reporters in the presence of professor V Kamakoti, director, IIT Madras, after taking part in the ‘Think India Dakshinapatha Summit 2025’.
Assembly elections are around the corner in Tamil Nadu and chief minister M K Stalin has sparked a row by claiming that the Centre is attempting to impose Hindi on the state through the National Education Policy – 2020.
Dharmendra said that the three language policy is for classes six to ten.
“One language will be the mother tongue. The rest two will be of your choice. No language will be imposed by the Government of India on any state,” he said.
In response to a query on how the three language policy is being implemented in a state like Uttar Pradesh where the mother tongue is Hindi, the minister said: “We are implementing it in that state as well. Many state governments, forget BJP-ruled states, have been implementing the three language policy, even prior to the National Education Policy.”
“In Uttar Pradesh, a student will learn Hindi as the mother tongue. After that, s/he may opt for learning Marathi or Tamil as well. A student in UP can take Tamil as a third language as well. UP government has to provide the facility to teach Tamil,” he said.
Referring to the fact that only 10 per cent of India’s population speak English, Dharmendra said that the rest of the people prefer to speak in their mother tongues.
He went on to say how Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had said that he would encourage Telugu speaking students to learn as many as 10 languages so that every Telugu boy becomes ‘globally competitive’ and be proficient in different languages.
“Language is always a facilitator. Those with politically narrow ideas are creating this problem,” Dharmendra added.
On his past visits to Tamil Nadu, the minister said: “I have toured all part of Tamil Nadu. It is essentially a linguistic State. I am Odia. I am very proud of my Odia language. But I am also proud of other Indian languages.”
“With full responsibility I am telling you today, those who want to create this language division, they have failed. Society is moving way ahead of them, ” he added.
