Just as the opposition parties in Tamil Nadu are up in arms against the three-language policy stressed in the New Education Policy 2020, the AIADMK government led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami too today took exception to the Centre's latest move and asserted that Tamil Nadu would never ever allow the three language policy and would continue to follow only the two-language policy.
"The people of Tamil Nadu and most of the political parties including the AIADMK wish that only two-language policy should be in force in the State. As such, it is saddening to note that the NEP has stressed three-language policy," the Chief Minister said in his statement here.
"Though the NEP has three language policy, the AIADMK government will never ever allow this in Tamil Nadu. Instead, it will continue to adhere to the two-language policy. The Centre should accept the overall view of the people of Tamil Nadu in this regard and should reconsider its stand on the three-language policy. I appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow the States to implement their own language policy according to their views," he added.
Stating that for the past 80 years, the people of Tamil Nadu had been firm on two language policy, Palaniswami said: "At different times, they have made their mind clear through agitations."
Recalling the 1965 anti-Hindi agitation, the Chief Minister recalled the historic resolution moved by former Chief Minister CN Annadurai on January 23, 1968, at the Tamil Nadu Assembly. The resolution proposed to abolish the three language policy in all schools in Tamil Nadu while removing Hindi from the State syllabus but allowing Tamil and English.
Palaniswami also recalled that the AIADMK government had been consistently following two language policy proposed by Anna for the past many years. On November 13, 1986, a resolution asserting two language policy moved by former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran was adopted by the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Palaniswami also recalled that former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa too was firm on opposing Hindi on non-Hindi speaking States and in thwarting such efforts. She also reiterated that Tamil should be declared as an official language of the country.
When the draft New Education Policy was released, the AIADMK government opposed it strongly. In this connection, the Chief Minister recalled that he had written a letter to the Prime Minister on June 26, 2019. Besides, he also reiterated this in his Independence Day address last year and on various occasions during the debates in the State Assembly.
