Udhayanidhi welcomes T.N.’s decision on Navodaya schools, seeks special Assembly session to reiterate State’s stand

Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin on Friday welcomed the government’s decision to adhere to the established two-language policy in Tamil Nadu and not permit Navodaya schools in the State.

Mr. Udhayanidhi also urged the State government to continue putting forth strong arguments in the ongoing case in the Supreme Court in support of Tamil Nadu’s position on establishing Navodaya schools. He also suggested convening a special session of the Tamil Nadu Assembly, if required, to adopt a resolution reiterating the State’s position on this matter.

In a statement, Mr. Udhayanidhi said the State was not opposed to any language, including Hindi. Allowing each State to follow the language policy of its choice would further strengthen the unity of India, he said.

“During every difficult situation faced by our country, be it the Indo-China War, the Bangladesh Liberation War, the Kargil ‘War’ or the Gujarat earthquake, Tamils have demonstrated their patriotism in no way less than people of other States. Therefore, merely saying ‘we do not want the imposition of Hindi’ cannot be taken to mean that Tamils want to function as a separate country. There is no connection between learning Hindi and patriotism,” he said.

He also pointed out the State, which follows the two-language policy, is a leader in India across various sectors, including higher education enrolment and women’s workforce participation. From producing Nobel laureates to leading scientists at ISRO, Tamils have achieved distinction without knowing Hindi, Mr. Udhayanidhi further said.

“Tamil Nadu has not suffered any setback because its people do not know Hindi. On the contrary, Tamil Nadu has achieved better development than other States and is a growth engine for India,” he added.