No need for confrontational stance on languages: Vice-President

Jagdeep Dhankhar’s remarks come at a time when the Union and Tamil Nadu Governments are caught in a war of words over the 2020 National Education Policy (NEP) and its three-language formula. File
| Photo Credit: ANI

Wading into the Tamil Nadu Government’s ongoing clash with the Centre over the alleged imposition of Hindi, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar questioned the need to assume a “confrontational stance” on the issue. All languages must be nurtured, he said.

“India is a land of rich languages. Sanskrit, Bangla, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, several languages. Even in Parliament, simultaneous translation takes place in 22 languages. Our civilisational ethos tells us inclusivity [is key]. Should there be a confrontational stance on language in the land of Bharat?” the Vice-President asked, while speaking at IIT Hyderabad on Sunday.

“What a moment of pride for everyone when languages were put in the classical languages status recently. We have to nurture every language. Our languages have global outreach,” Mr. Dhankhar added.

Watchdogs for nationalism

The Vice-President called for Indian youth to act as watchdogs against what he called “deviation” from the commitment to nationalism. “I call upon the youth of the country, social media has given you the power to take a call. If there is deviation from our commitment to nationalism, if there is assessment of development through a partisan prism, we need to be watchdogs,” he said.

Narratives that “emanate from forces that are financially fuelled only to injure Bharat” should be countered, he added.

Language war

Mr. Dhankhar’s remarks come at a time when the Union and Tamil Nadu Governments are caught in a war of words over the 2020 National Education Policy (NEP) and its three-language formula. In a recent letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said that the Centre’s decision to link fund disbursal for its flagship school education schemes — the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and PM SHRI Schools — to States’ implementation of the NEP was “fundamentally unacceptable”.

In response, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said it was necessary to “rise above political differences”. Failure to implement NEP deprives Tamil Nadu’s students, teachers, and educational institutions of immense opportunities and resources, he argued.

Mr. Stalin, however, accused the Centre of seeking to “impose Hindi”, camouflaging it under the NEP’s three-language policy.