Hindi imposition is viewed very seriously in Tamil Nadu for several decades. The Dravidian political movement and all its leaders have also been staunch about protecting Tamil sentiments and identity.
It must be noted that Tamil Nadu saw widespread agitations in 1965 by DMK party when the then Congress state government had attempted to make Hindi the state’s official language. Many DMK party men lost their lives during agitation
BJP party led Indian PM Modi speech Hindi as a National language evoked strong criticism from Tamil Speaking Dravida race people . Many advised PMO office to to educate PM Modi study constitution of India properly and claimed there is no national language to India
Having known DMK firm stand on 2 langauge formula and with Tamilnadu Assembly elections scheduled during 2021 April worried ADMK party led Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami who today has categorically said that Tamilnadu rejects the three-language policy that was proposed as per the New Education Policy 2020,
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Due to continuous agitation by DMK and college students Paramilitary forces were send to quell the agitation; their involvement resulted in the deaths of about seventy persons (by official estimates ) including two policemen. To calm the situation, Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri gave assurances that English would continue to be used as the official language as long as the non-Hindi speaking states wanted. The riots subsided after Shastri’s assurance
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Also he added he requests the Prime Minister to consider Tamil sentiments and allow states to pursue their own language policy as per the states’ respective ideology.
“It is worrisome and painful that the NEP makes mention of three-language policy, but the people of Tamil Nadu and all the major political parties prefer carrying forward the two-language policy” the statement had mentioned.
It also refers to AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran, who as Chief Minister had passed an assembly resolution, in 1986 that talks about reinforcing the two-language policy.
Likewise, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa too Quoted then PM Shastri assurance that Hindi must not be imposed on non-Hindi speaking states and that such attempts would be opposed and defeated.
“When the NEP was in draft stage I had written to PM Modi (in June 2019) on Tamil Nadu preferring to continue with the existing two-language policy.
I had emphasized the same in my Independence Day speech and also several Assembly debate sessions” Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said in a statement.
Last parliament 2019 election ADMK+ witnessed worst defeat where it lost and DMK+ won with huge margins winning 39/40 seats and with assembly elections on cards during April 2021 the Tamil Nadu Government drawing flak from opposition parties for not having opposed Modi governments CAA , EIA2020 , and now particularly NEP, which makes mention of three-language policy.
This is given to the well known fact Tamil Nadu has been following the two-language (English-Tamil) policy for almost 6 decades.
Though the three-language policy leaves it to states to decide on what that language would be, political parties in Tamil Nadu look at this as a veiled attempt by the Centre to impose Hindi and Sanskrit
Welcoming ADMK party CM views Opposition DMK Party President M.K Stalin who vouched his support for two langauge formula and who said DMK Party founder CN Annadurai had announced in the State assembly, in 1968, that Tamil Nadu would follow only the two-language policy.
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Also M.K.Stalin urged Tamilnadu CM Palanisamy to reject entire National educational Policy that he claimed had many flaws .
