The clash between Tamil Nadu and the BJP-led Centre over the National Education Policy is the latest chapter in the long-running Hindi vs Tamil identity feud.
The Hindi versus Tamil identity tussle took yet another sharp turn following Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s remarks on withholding crucial education funds until Tamil Nadu adopted the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and its controversial three-language formula.
The remarks have fanned the flames of a bitter political confrontation. For Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK, the fight is about the very essence of the southern state’s identity.
The M.K. Stalin-led DMK, which has long stood as the defender of the Dravidian ideology, sees the imposition of the NEP and its tri-lingual policy as a direct affront to the state’s autonomy and a veiled attempt to foist Hindi upon a Tamil-majority population. The DMK, backed by nearly all major political parties in Tamil Nadu, has accused the Centre of politically-motivated actions, seeking to force compliance by using financial leverage.
The context for this seemingly endless battle can be traced back to the Dravidian movement, which, since the 1930s, has fought for linguistic self-determination and opposed the imposition of Hindi. The two-language policy, emphasizing Tamil and English, has been a pillar of the state’s educational system. Successive Tamil Nadu governments have rejected the notion of a three-language formula, with the most vocal opposition coming from the erstwhile AIADMK government. In 2020, then Chief Minister E.K. Palaniswami categorically rejected the NEP’s three-language formula, invoking the legacy of C. N. Annadurai and MGR, who fiercely resisted any attempts at imposing Hindi.
Now, with Tamil Nadu’s next Assembly election due next year, the DMK has doubled down on its stance. Chief Minister M K Stalin has vowed that the state will not buckle under what he termed ‘blackmail,’ asserting that Tamils will not accept any decision that undermines their cultural and linguistic pride. This rhetoric, echoed by his son and Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, has sharpened the political stakes. Their opposition to the NEP is framed as a defense of Tamil identity, a battle against a perceived homogenizing force emanating from Delhi.
Actor-turned-politician Vijay, leader of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), went so far as to label the Centre’s approach as “fascist.”
At the heart of the conflict is the allocation of funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme, which is essential for the state’s education system. Tamil Nadu has yet to receive over Rs. 2,150 crore in promised funds, which are vital for teacher salaries, student welfare initiatives, and the Right to Education reimbursements for underprivileged students. With the state already spending Rs. 76 crore monthly on teacher salaries and Rs. 400 crore annually on RTE, the absence of central funding has become a significant financial burden, threatening the very sustainability of the state’s education system.
The Tamil Nadu government sees in Pradhan’s remarks a wider attempt to centralize governance and curtail the autonomy of regional governments.
Tamil Nadu’s opposition to the NEP is not just about resisting the imposition of a three-language formula. The DMK government has criticized several other aspects of the NEP, including the common entrance exams, the push for a four-year undergraduate program, and the introduction of uniform exams for Classes III, V and VIII. These reforms, the DMK claims, would exacerbate dropouts and create inequalities within the education system, entrenching a two-tiered structure that would affect marginalized students.
To counter the NEP, the DMK government set up a 13-member panel to draft a State Education Policy (SEP), which aims to provide a localized, inclusive alternative to the NEP. The panel, which included prominent figures like chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand and Carnatic musician T.M. Krishna submitted its recommendations last year, but the SEP has yet to be finalized.
The BJP-led government’s insistence on the NEP, with its sweeping reforms, may be seen as an attempt to standardize education across the country, but for Tamil Nadu, it risks erasing the regional identity that has long been a cornerstone of its political culture.
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