CHENNAI: Stating that India is a multi-cultural, multi-linguistic nation, Tamil Nadu higher education minister K Ponmudy on Saturday said one language for the country is not acceptable.
Union home minister Amit Shah’s recent statement that Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English has stirred controversy in non-Hindi speaking states. At the two-day national conference on education, social justice and federalism organised by DMK students wing, the minister said, “Students should know the international language English for communicating with others and a local language to communicate within their own state.”
He pointed out that Tamil Nadu has been following a two-language formula (English and Tamil) since the 1960s which is helping the students to work in foreign countries. “After the agitation against imposition of Hindi in 1965, now again there is an attempt to make Hindi mandatory through three-language formula in the National Education Policy (NEP). We are not against studying any language. But, the third language should be an optional language and not a compulsory one,” he said.
Stressing on the importance of federalism, the minister said, “The BJP is trying to convert India into a unitary state,” he said.
Further, he said, unlike the US where the governors are elected by people, in India, the Union government is appointing governors as its representatives. “That’s why the governors always act like agents of Union governments without protecting the rights of the states,” Ponmudy said. He also said some teachers and even vice-chancellors are now trying to saffronise educational institutions and urged students to spread the message of social harmony.
The national conference will host ministers and MPs, social activists from Kerala, West Bengal, Telangana and other states. Dravidar Kazhagam leader K Veeramani inaugurated the conference.
