Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2026: M K Stalin alleges Centre’s 3-language formula is ‘covert’ mechanism to impose Hindi
Stalin, who is also the president of the ruling DMK, claimed that CBSE’s curriculum framework in line with the National Education Policy 2020 was not an innocent academic reform. This was a calculated and deeply worrying attempt at linguistic imposition, confirming our long-standing concerns.
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The Prime Minister alleged that the BJP-led NDA government, under the guise of promoting “Hindi languages”, is aggressively pushing a centralizing agenda that privileges Hindi while systematically marginalizing India’s rich and diverse linguistic heritage.
“The so-called trilingual formula is actually a covert mechanism to expand Hindi to non-Hindi-speaking regions,” he claimed in a statement.
For students in southern states, this framework effectively amounts to “compulsory study of Hindi”. He alleged: “So, where is the reciprocity? Will students in Hindi-speaking states be made compulsory to learn languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and even Bengali and Marathi? The complete absence of such clarity reveals the one-sided and discriminatory nature of this policy. The irony here is obvious and unacceptable.”
The same Union government that “failed” to make Tamil a compulsory language in Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan schools and consistently failed to appoint adequate Tamil teachers is now trying to lecture the states on the promotion of Indian languages. “This is not commitment, this is hypocrisy.” Stalin wondered whether the Union government had any understanding of ground realities; Availability of teachers, educational capacity and infrastructure? He asked: “Where are the qualified teachers to implement this sweeping exercise? And most importantly, where is the funding to support this enormous burden on the education system? So this appears to be yet another ill-conceived policy announced without planning, resources or accountability. This was not just a language issue; it was a fairness, federalism and equal opportunity issue.”
This policy, which structurally privileges Hindi-speaking students, risks creating fundamental advantages in higher education and employment and further widening regional inequalities.
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At a time when the world is advancing at an unprecedented pace, our children need to be prepared for the future. The priority should be to equip them with skills in emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Games and Comics), and strengthen their scientific temperament and critical thinking. The CM instead claimed that this baggage of regressive and harsh language threatened to derail their progress.
The Union government seems determined to impose Hindi, setting aside legitimate, coherent and democratic concerns voiced by Tamil Nadu and many other states. This approach is a direct affront to the principles of cooperative federalism and an affront to the linguistic identity of millions of Indians. India’s strength lies in its diversity, not in “forced uniformity”.
Any attempt to upset this delicate balance is not only misguided but dangerous. “Such policies undermine the foundations of our pluralistic nation, and we will oppose it vigorously.”
He also asked: Are the Edapadi Palaniswami-led AIADMK and its NDA allies in Tamil Nadu agreeing to this imposition? Or will they, for once, protect the rights, identities and futures of our students?
