New Delhi: After backlash from leaders of Tamil Nadu over the inclusion of Hindi language in schools under the draft New Education Policy (NEP), the Ministry of Human Resource Development on Saturday clarified that it is just a recommendation and not a government policy.
The draft, proposed by a panel constituted by Prakash Javadekar when he was the HRD in the previous government and led by led by eminent scientist K Kasturirangan, had suggested teaching of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states.
The clarification came after political parties in Tamil Nadu, including the DMK, strongly opposed the three language formula's continuation and said it was tantamount to "thrusting" Hindi on the state's people.
"This is a draft policy submitted by the committee and is placed for the views of the general public," the HRD ministry said in a statement, adding that the final decision will be taken after consulting state governments and getting feedback from the public.
Earlier, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said no final decision has been taken and the policy was just a recommendation made by the NEP committee.
"The Modi government is for the promotion of all Indian languages. There should not be any misunderstanding as the recommendations have been made by the NEP committee. It is not yet a government policy," he said.
Javadekar said misinformation was being created about the issue and the government has no intention of spreading a particular language. “We are considering public consensus,” he added.
Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal also described it as a misunderstanding. "State governments must have got the wrong information. Besides, PM Modi has already said that no particular language will be imposed on any region. We have made a draft and we will be collecting information from various states and then we will have further discussions," he said.
The Tamil Nadu government said it would continue with the two-language formula, seeking to cool frayed tempers.
While DMK chief MK Stalin dubbed the move as ‘throwing stones at a beehive’, DMK leader T Siva said the Centre was playing with fire with such a decision.
Besides the DMK, the CPI and BJP's ally in the Lok Sabha polls, the PMK, also alleged that the recommendation on the three language formula was "imposition of Hindi" and wanted scrapping it.
AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran said, "Imposing Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states will destroy pluralism. This would make non-Hindi speakers second class citizens."(With inputs from agencies)
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