Language row: TN CM Stalin targets Centre with ‘LKG student’ jibe; Amit Shah’s rebuttal | India News – The Times of India
NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah took a swipe at Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, saying under Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led administration, the CISF aspirants could write the exam in their respective regional languages.
He also asked Stalin to commence engineering and medical education in Tamil in the state.
“Earlier, there was no place for your mother tongue in CAPF exams. You could not write CAPF exam in Bengali, Kannada or in Tamil languages but PM Modi decided that now candidates can appear for the CAPF exams in their mother tongue as well,” Amit Shah said while addressing 56th Raising Day of the CISF at RTC Thakkolam in Ranipet, about 70 km from Chennai.
“I want to urge the CM of Tamil Nadu to take steps towards introducing curriculum of medical and engineering courses in Tamil language as soon as possible…” he added.
He said Tamil Nadu’s culture played a vital role in strengthening India’s cultural stream.
“Be it administrative reforms, attaining spiritual heights, education or the unity and integrity of the nation – Tamil Nadu has reinforced Indian culture in every sphere,” Shah said at the event, which marked a spectacular march past of contingents, yoga display and commando operations.
Tamil Nadu CM Stalin attacks on Centre over language row
In the latest episode of language war, Stalin called the Centre’s three-language formula under the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 a “Hindi colonialism” and said that Tamil Nadu will not tolerate “Hindi colonialism” replacing “British colonialism”.
“History is clear. Those who tried to impose Hindi on Tamil Nadu have either been defeated or later changed their stance and aligned with DMK. Tamil Nadu will not tolerate Hindi colonialism replacing British colonialism,” he wrote.
The Tamil Nadu CM ridiculed the state BJP’s signature drive supporting NEP, daring them to contest the forthcoming assembly elections on this particular matter.
“Now the BJP’s circus-like signature campaign for the three-language formula has become a laughing stock in Tamil Nadu. I challenge them to make this their core agenda in the 2026 Assembly elections and let it be a referendum on Hindi imposition,” Stalin posted on X.
Stalin criticised Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan for initiating an unwinnable confrontation. “The tree may prefer calm, but the wind will not subside.”
He noted that the Education Minister instigated this exchange of letters whilst they were performing their duties. Stalin stated that the minister overstepped by attempting to coerce an entire state into accepting #HindiImposition, resulting in consequences for reviving an unwinnable dispute. He affirmed that Tamil Nadu would not yield to pressure.
Referencing the names of Union government’s programmes, institutions and accolades, Stalin indicated that Hindi has been extensively enforced, creating difficulties for non-Hindi speakers, who constitute the majority in India.
“Men may come, men may go. But even long after the dominance of Hindi is shattered in India, history will remember that it was DMK that stood as the vanguard,” he wrote.
What is 3-language formula?
The three-language formula under the NEP 2020 promotes multilingualism while ensuring flexibility in language learning. It mandates that students learn three languages, with at least two being Indian languages, though the choice of languages is left to states and schools.
The policy encourages the mother tongue or regional language as the medium of instruction at least until class 5, preferably until class 8 and beyond. While it allows English as an option, it does not impose any particular language, emphasising state autonomy in language selection. Despite its flexible approach, states like Tamil Nadu oppose the policy, fearing it could lead to the imposition of Hindi over regional languages.
