India’s three language formula has stood the test of time. By including a local language, national language Hindi and world language English into the curriculum, India sought to put a strong foundation for its new generations to effortlessly communicate with the outside world. A state that resisted this and staged violent protests leading to deaths and arson in the 1960s was Tamil Nadu. Under the leadership of the Dravidian parties, Tamils saw the imposition of Hindi on them as part of the north Indian Aryan attempts to subjugate them. They however welcomed English while opposing the three language formula. Naturally, they no longer saw a threat from the British Raj to their culture and civilization in independent India. Tamils are understandably and appreciably proud of their language, culture and history. The Chera Chola dynasties of the South had proven their supremacy in warfare, maritime prowess, wealth creation and much more in the periods long before the British Raj.
The challenge held out to Chief Minister MK Stalin by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, to teach Engineering in Tamil must be seen in this light. Shah and the BJP have demonstrated a heightened sense of nationalism, set against the accommodative nature of the Congress party that ruled India for much of the post-Independence era. Admittedly, the Congress inherited this spirit from India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who with his education and eminent exposure to the West had laid the foundations of a new India. The BJP, by virtue of its RSS ideology, is inward looking and has a different world view. At the same time, the Modi government is also restrained in matters of major policy changes and indulged in kite-flying without showing the determination to reform the nation’s systems; much less the society. Hence, it is in no mood to rub Stalin or Tamil Nadu the wrong way.
Be that as it may, Stalin being generations past the 1960s would do well to review the Tamil Nadu government’s policy to resist the three-language formula. Tamils face a serious communication problem in other states, mainly in north India as also cities like Mumbai and Kolkata, where job opportunities and economic activities are high. Youths from other southern states are familiar with Hindi and do not face a serious communication problem at the ground level in the North as they could speak and understand Hindi. Admittedly, successive governments in Tamil Nadu have developed the state in terms of both agriculture and industry. Stalin is taking this ably forward. Yet, times are changing. The three language formula itself must change to a four language formula by including another foreign language too as optional in the school curriculum. The world is turning into a global village. More Indians are working abroad now than in the past. Millions more are seeking opportunities abroad.
