Tamil Nadu language row: Congress treads cautiously as DMK and BJP slug it out

Stalin’s remarks reflect DMK’s long-standing commitment to a two-language policy — Tamil and English.

The Congress has been mostly watching from the sidelines as the showdown between BJP and DMK continues over the ‘language row’ in Tamil Nadu.

However, with the second half of the Budget session of Parliament due to begin on March 10, it would be interesting to see how the Congress-led INDIA bloc deals with the issue.

The Rashtriya Lok Dal, an NDA ally has already accused the Samajwadi party (INDIA bloc member), the principal opposition party in Uttar Pradesh and Congress of being mute spectators when “insults are being thrown at Hindi”.

UP Cabinet Minister Anil Kumar said, "SP's best friend MK Stalin sahab is openly opposing Hindi. Why are SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi silent on this issue?... But why are India Alliance's big partners Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav silent, clarify your position. 24 crore people speak Hindi in the State. They need to know what SP’s stance is on this matter."

Why is the ‘language row’?

After the Centre withheld Rs 2,152 crore meant for Tamil Nadu’s Samagra Shiksha scheme, citing the state’s refusal to implement National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, Stalin raised concerns over the decision in a letter to the Prime Minister. The CM demanded the release of the funds meant for supporting the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

On February 15, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urged the state to implement the three-language formula to ensure educational equality. Pradhan had alleged "political motivation" as the reason for the DMK regime not agreeing to the NEP. In response, Stalin claimed that the BJP was using the NEP not to improve education but to secretly push Hindi.

Stalin’s remarks reflect DMK’s long-standing commitment to a two-language policy — Tamil and English. It is rooted in the state’s Dravidian ethos and its historical resistance to Hindi dating back to the anti-Hindi agitations of the 1930s and 1960s.

Three-language policy is supposed to be based on the choices of states, regions and of the student provided two of the three languages are native to India. It does not mandate Hindi as part of the three-language formula.

What is Congress’ stand on NEP?

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram termed it the “peak of arrogance”, Pradhan’s insistence on the state implementing the three-language policy. Meanwhile, Congress’s whip in the Lok Sabha, Manickam Tagore, said Pradhan’s “irresponsible statement” proved to be a flashpoint between the Centre and DMK. “The Congress’s stand on the issue is straightforward. The policy needs to be implemented with the state’s consent,” he told Indian Express.

The party had opposed the NEP in 2020 when it was introduced during the Covid pandemic. It had questioned the NDA government’s move to push it through during the pandemic without consultation.

What has Congress avoided a firm stand on the matter?

The Congress may not want to take a position where it is perceived as “anti-Hindi”.  It may fear that being branded with the "anti-Hindu" tag may adversely impact its prospects in poll-bound Hindi heartland states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, states which will be key to its revival.

Bihar will go to polls later this year while Assembly elections are due in UP in 2027. In the last few elections, the party has not performed well in both these states. A revival in the Hindi heartland is key for the party’s national revival. The party may also cannot give the BJP a readymade issue in an election year and so has to tread carefully.

“It is tricky because the Congress needs to strengthen its ground in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and other Hindi heartland states. Backing what Stalin is saying will give fodder to the BJP to build a narrative against the Congress and its allies in these two states,” a senior Congress leader told IE in Lucknow.