Three states from south India have protested against the plan to make Hindi or local languages the medium of instruction in all technical and non-technical educational institutions including central universities, instead of English. While Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked for the plans to be dropped, his Tamil Nadu counterpart has warned the Union government of possible anti-Hindi agitations. Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao too, opposed the plan and called it a violation of the federal spirit. But the Union government, which has remained silent on these protests, seems to be going ahead with the recommendations.
The Committee of Parliament on Official Languages which is headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in its 11th volume of the report recommended that the medium of instruction in all technical and non-technical educational institutions including central universities should mandatorily be Hindi, and local languages. In addition, according to reports, the committee also recommended that compulsory English language question papers in recruitment examinations be removed. The report also said that English should be used only where absolutely as the medium of instruction and gradually it should be replaced with Hindi. The report has already been submitted to President Droupadi Murmu in September.
While the Union government and members of the Committee have not reacted to criticisms and opposition to the recommendations, Amit Shah is set to launch medical books in Hindi on October 16. According to a report in the Times of India, books on anatomy, physiology and biochemistry for first year MBBS students will be released by Shah in Madhya Pradesh. Chief Minister of MP, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that his government is working on translating more textbooks to Hindi including for engineering courses.
This even as the Tamil Nadu CM said that if the recommendations were implemented, then there could be massive protests like the ones the state saw in 1965. In a strongly worded statement, Stalin said, “The preferential treatment given to Hindi over the other languages is unconstitutional and such a move is a threat to the integrity of the nation.” Meanwhile, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan wrote a letter to PM Modi and said, “question papers should be given in all languages specified in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.”