As the Centre and Tamil Nadu continue to clash over the three-language policy, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has taken a different approach, advocating for multilingual education, including Hindi. “Language is only a means of communication. All of you are aware that Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and other languages are shining globally. Knowledge is different, language is different. I'm going to promote 10 languages, including international languages, in every university,” Naidu said on Thursday.
Unlike Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK, which has rejected the three-language policy, Naidu sees value in learning multiple languages. “We had to promote Telugu. We should also promote English as it is an international language for livelihood. It is better to learn Hindi so that we can mingle with people easily,” he stated.
His comments come as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin intensifies his attack on the Centre’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, calling it an attempt to impose Hindi on non-Hindi-speaking states. Stalin recently declared that Tamil Nadu would not accept the three-language policy “even if the Centre offered ₹10,000 crore.”
On Wednesday, Stalin questioned the BJP’s claim of Prime Minister Modi’s love for Tamil. Stalin wrote, “If the BJP’s claim that our Hon'ble PM has great love for Tamil is true, why is it never reflected in action?” He argued that real action would include removing Hindi from Union government offices in Tamil Nadu, granting Tamil official language status on par with Hindi, and allocating more funds for Tamil than Sanskrit.
Stalin also criticised what he called the “saffronisation” of Thiruvalluvar. “Stop the desperate attempts to saffronise Thiruvalluvar and declare his timeless classic, Thirukkural, as India’s National Book.” He also called for an end to what he termed “taxpayer money waste” on Hindi Pakhwadas in Tamil Nadu and objected to Sanskrit-inspired train names like Vande Bharat.
However, Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai hit back at Stalin, accusing him of hypocrisy over language policies and Tamil cultural preservation. Slamming Stalin’s argument on funding, Annamalai called out the CM for questioning the increased allocation to Sanskrit over Tamil. “Only a Hypocrite would ask about the increased allocation of funds to Sanskrit over Tamil, knowing the rationality behind it very well. We are calling you a ‘HYPOCRITE’ because this is the allocation for the development of Sanskrit & Tamil between 2006-14.”
Annamalai cited figures from the UPA era, stating that Sanskrit received ₹675.36 crore, while Tamil got only ₹75.05 crore. “What were you doing back then?” he asked. He also took aim at former Home Minister P Chidambaram, stating, “What were you doing while former Home Minister Thiru P Chidambaram submitted over 170 recommendations to popularise Hindi nationwide?”