Attempt to ‘Sanskritise’ India: MK Stalin on NEP 3 language policy

The BJP's push for imposing Hindi language through the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has evoked a sharp reaction from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K Stalin

Chennai: The BJP's push for imposing Hindi language through the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has evoked a sharp reaction from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K Stalin.

“The three-language formula is nothing but an attempt of ‘Sanskritisation’ of India in the garb of National Education Policy,” the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said launching a strong opposition to the Centre’s ‘Hindi imposition’ through National Education Policy (NEP).

“Hindi is the mask, Sanskrit is the hidden face. We will oppose the imposition of Hindi in Tamil Nadu,” MK Stalin alleged.

The DMK President on Thursday, February 27, 2025, charged that the push for a monolithic Hindi identity has “killed many ancient mother tongues.”

He claimed that the languages that gave space to Hindi eventually got lost without any trace.

In a post on social media Stalin write:

“My dear sisters and brothers from other states, have you ever wondered how many Indian languages Hindi has swallowed?”

He answered:

“Hindi has swallowed at least 25 regional languages and the native speakers of their mother tongue are gasping for survival because Hindi is bulldozed them over.”

“Bhojpuri, Maithili, Awadhi, Braj, Bundeli, Garhwali, Kumaoni, Magahi, Marwari, Malvi, Chhattisgarhi, Santhali, Angika, Ho, Kharia, Khortha, Kurmali, Kurukh, Mundari, and many more,” Stalin lists out the languages ‘swallowed by Hindi.

Stalin claimed that Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were “never Hindi heartlands” as it is publicized through the media. No one talks about the mother tongue or the “real languages” that are swallowed by Hindi.

“Those languages are now relics of the past” Stalin alleged.

“Recently, India’s Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar had said the best way to conquer a territory is to overtake its culture, destroy its language. That is the policy of the BJP through the three-language formula of the NEP,” Stalin alleged.

Countering the argument that the three-language policy did not mandate Hindi or Sanskrit and any regional language from India could be learned as the third language, Stalin pointed out:

“Look at the said formula in reality, in most of the States Hindi or Sanskrit is given priority. Barring the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where the Tamil language is spoken, this language does not feature anywhere in India.”

Giving an example of the language fascism of the BJP, Stalin said:

“It came to light that in the BJP-ruled Rajasthan, Urdu teachers were replaced by Sanskrit teachers.”

When asked whether the Centre was “sowing the seeds for another language war,” Stalin responded, “Yes, certainly.”

[The writer, Syed Ali Mujtaba, is a Journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com.]

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