The Debate on Language Policies and Regional Rights

The National Education Policy, 2020, encourages students up to at least Class 5 to learn a regional language in addition to the local language or mother tongue and English. While the Central government asserts that the choice of the additional regional language is left to the States, the NEP’s strong pitch for the three-language formula has led to fear, especially in Tamil Nadu, that there is an attempt being made to impose Hindi on non-Hindi speaking States. This week, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin dubbed the NEP a “Hindutva policy” aimed at promoting Hindi, rather than focusing on India’s overall development.

Is learning a third language, especially Hindi, necessary? Here we discuss the issue.

Guests: Yogendra Yadav, psephologist and founding national president of Swaraj India; T.M. Krishna, carnatic musician and author

Host: K.V. Prasad

Recorded and edited by Jude Francis Weston