India is a sub continent with citizenship of multitude of population with varied culture, food habits, dressing pattern and social behaviours. Among the cultural factors, language plays a major role in keeping the harmony of the people. Many languages, with and without script are spoken and 22 languages are placed in the VIII Schedule of Indian Constitution by giving equal status to all. Indian Constitution had to give some special status to Hindi language, carefully crafted, with Devnagiri script. The back ground of this specialty obtained with the casting of single vote to get the majority from the presiding person that could be known from the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly and the writings of the chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
After the Constitution came into effect, sustained efforts are being made to impose Hindi on non Hindi speaking by the Centre. Stiff opposition for imposing Hindi came from Tamil Nadu and not so from other States in the beginning. The present leader of Dravidar Kazhagam, the parental organization for the Dravidian Movement, Asiriyar Dr. K. Veeramani used to say, “Our opposition to Hindi is older than the Hindi itself”. Hindi was given some special status as per the provisions of Indian Constitution which came into effect only after independence. But opposition to Hindi imposition was started even prior to independence in 1938 under the visionary leadership of Periyar E.V.R., the father of Dravidian Movement.
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Due to the special status given to Hindi language, all other non Hindi speaking people are made second class citizens. Many of the competitive examinations conducted by the Centre for the recruitment in the government services are conducted in Hindi and English. By this Hindi speaking people are put up in an advantage more than non Hindi speaking people to fair well and get through
which deny the equality and equal opportunities to all as adumbrated in the Constitution. Now slowly opposition to Hindi imposing started to come up organizationally from many state like Karnataka, Kerala, in the North from Punjab and Maharashtra.
Forecasting the incompatibility of Hindi’s special status with the rest of the language speaking people Periyar led the agitation to stop the imposition periodically whenever thrust came from the ruler-authority.
The founder of DMK, the political party of Dravidian Movement Anna when he became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in 1967 with the mandate of the people, he brought resolution for the two language policy in the State Legislative Assembly and got it passed. At that time Anna pointed, the two language policy resolution passed would prevail forever, whether himself or any others assume the role of ruling the State. No one would dare enough to change it. Until then it means himself (Anna), brought up and backed up in Dravidian ideology has been ruling the State. In that line, Anna is still ruling the State of Tamil Nadu. Two language policy is sustained in the State.
On the language policy the Tamil Nadu model of two language policy viz regional language of the State and English will be ideal and make the people of the country to live in harmony. Every individual has got freedom to learn any other language and they can do so on their own. State government will not interfere in such freedom. But government policy continues to remain only with two language formula.
Recently in the draft of the National Education Policy 2019, the learning of Hindi was recommended as compulsory. Immediately, the opposition to the compulsion emanated from Tamil Nadu which made the present BJP led Central government to state that Hindi would not be compulsory.
The permanent solution on the language policy remains only in two language policy – respective regional language and English and that is ideal for the unity and integrity of the country. The feeling of oneness with equality is the foundation on which the nation India has to be built up.
nietzsche
