Rajya Sabha MP Sudha Murthy emphasized her language skills while showing support on Wednesday for the Centre's National Education Policy (NEP) and its controversial three-language formula.
Discussing her view of learning languages, Sudha Murthy said, "I have always thought that one can learn many languages, and I know 7-8 languages myself. So I like learning, and children can earn a lot."
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who in Parliament on Tuesday defended the National Education Policy, accused the DMK of politicizing the topic to derive political mileage. Bringing up his interaction with Sudha Murthy, he underlined that there had been no imposition of any language. "I queried Sudha Murthy ji how many languages do you know? She replied that by birth she is a Kannadiga, by work she has learned English, by practice she has learned Sanskrit, Hindi, Odia, Telugu, and Marathi. What is wrong in that? Who is forcing Sudha Murthyji to learn that language? No one is forcing anything on anyone. We are a democratic society, and sometimes you have to be multilingual," he asserted.
Centre vs Tamil Nadu Over NEP
There is a political standoff between the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government over the latter's refusal to accept the National Education Policy, especially its suggestion to implement a three-language model.
The DMK contends that mandating the NEP would be tantamount to imposing Hindi, which the party alleges contradicts the state's educational policy. The Centre, however, has said that more than ₹2,000 crore under the Samagra Shiksha scheme would be released only if Tamil Nadu implements the policy in full.
Disapproving the BJP government's stand, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram reiterated Tamil Nadu's affinity for its current two-language model, which prescribes Tamil and English as mediums of instruction in state-funded institutions.
"English links us to the world of business and science, and Tamil maintains our culture and identity. If someone wishes to learn a third language, it is of their own volition. There is no need to make it mandatory. To impose a third language on us would be totally unacceptable, and the Union government has to be pragmatic in executing its policies," he stated.
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