Vimalkiran Sampath

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru @mkstalin ji, your narrative of “imposition” is a tired attempt to mask political failures. The National Education Policy 2020 is, in fact, a manifesto for linguistic liberation. It prioritises the mother tongue so every Tamil child can excel in their own glorious language. By misrepresenting a flexible policy as “compulsory Hindi”, you are not defending Tamil; you are creating barriers that deny our youth the opportunity to become multilingual global leaders. Portraying multilingualism as a threat is misplaced. Tamil is not weakened by the learning of additional languages; it is enriched when its speakers are multilingual, confident and linguistically empowered. NEP upholds constitutional principles by promoting all languages equally and also addresses the limitations of the existing two-language system. It further focuses on implementation through initiatives such as Samagra Shiksha, teacher training, and strengthening institutions, like DIETs, along with national frameworks, such as NPST and NMM. Your questions on “reciprocity” ignore ground reality. Under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, Tamil has been celebrated as a national treasure—from the Kashi Tamil Sangamam to the global stage. While the Union Government actively encourages students across India to embrace Indian languages, your government continues to deprive Tamil students of diverse opportunities for the sake of a divisive vote bank narrative. The talk of resources is merely a façade. It is the DMK government that has stalled the establishment of PM SHRI schools in Tamil Nadu by refusing to sign the MoU after giving an undertaking for the same. Despite the directions of the Supreme Court of India to establish Navodaya Vidyalayas in Tamil Nadu, your government continues to obstruct their implementation, prioritising political narratives over educational equity. This deliberate resistance is not merely administrative defiance; it is a direct disservice to lakhs of underprivileged students who stand to benefit from quality, merit-based residential education. This has effectively withheld modern infrastructure and teachers from its own students. The Union Government remains fully committed to funding and teacher training but progress is being held back by your “dishonest” politics. Mischaracterising a progressive, inclusive reform as ‘linguistic imposition’ is aimed at creating unnecessary apprehension and confusion. The real concern, perhaps, is not the policy’s clarity, but the Hon’ble Chief Minister’s unwillingness to acknowledge it. In doing so, he disregards the constitutional spirit that safeguards India’s linguistic diversity. Stop using the “Hindi imposition” argument to hide administrative failures and join the national mission of empowering every Indian language.