UGCcircular on third language is an attempt to impose Hindi: Governors address

The Tamil Nadu government opposed the recent circular of the University Grants Commission (UGC) mandating the teaching of the third language at all higher educational institutions and urged the Union government not to implement it.

Governor R.N. Ravi’s address, deemed to have been read out in the Assembly on Tuesday, spelt out the government’s position on this matter on Tuesday. (Though the Governor declined to read out the prepared speech and walked out, the Assembly adopted a resolution that the speech prepared by the government and sent to him would be considered as having been read out by him in the House.)

“This government considers this action of the University Grants Commission as solely an indirect attempt to impose the Hindi language and strongly urges the Union government not to implement the same,” according to the address. “This government has not accepted the three-language formula prescribed in the Union government’s education policy. Even when grants legitimately due to Tamil Nadu were withheld, which resulted in a significant financial burden, the Tamil Nadu government had consistently reiterated that it would not accept the Union government’s three-language formula,” it said.

The Tamil Nadu State Education Policy reaffirmed that the two-language formula had always been the policy of the State. “We have been safeguarding the two-language education policy formulated by Perarignar Anna [former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai] in 1968 as dearly as our own eyes. When it comes to protecting the Tamil  language, which is inseparable from our life and emotions, there can be no room for compromise. Under no circumstances will this government, under the leadership of the Hon’ble Chief Minister, accept any alteration to this policy.”

The speech also recalled that on several occasions, the Tamil Nadu Assembly adopted resolutions opposing the imposition of Hindi. “After this government assumed office, a unanimous resolution was passed in this Assembly in 2022 urging the Union government not to implement the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language, which included proposals to make Hindi the medium of instruction at educational institutions of the Union government.”