Hindi row breaks out as Stalin, centrists clash ahead of polls

New Delhi: 18 days to go until polls, tamil nadu centimeter Stalin Sharpened a familiar election platform, accusing the Center of pushing for the passage of Hindi CBSETri-language launch in line with NEP. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan hit back, calling the accusation a political cover and promoting the NEP as a mother-tongue-first, flexible multilingual model. The conflict has turned curriculum reform into a high-stakes political fault line, forcing parties to pick sides on issues of identity, federalism and access.

Stalin’s blistering attack targeted CBSE’s phased rollout from Class VI in the 2026-27 academic session. He argued that the “so-called” three-language model effectively made Hindi “compulsory” in non-Hindi-speaking countries, while Hindi-speaking regions did not have a similar mandate to teach Tamil or other southern languages, which raised questions of equality and fairness.DMK An attempt was also made to bring the AIADMK and its NDA allies into the debate, asking them to clarify their stance.Pradhan dismissed the accusation as a “tired attempt” to cover up governance failures and claimed that multilingualism strengthened rather than weakened regional languages. He believes that in an increasingly connected economy, describing flexibility as an imposition risks narrowing opportunities for students.CBSE’s proposed structure makes a third language mandatory for Class VI, with a mix of two Indian languages. The NEP retains the three-language formula but promises “greater flexibility” and states that “no language will be imposed on any country”, leaving the choice to states, regions and learners.