Want things done your way? Do better than us: DMK Minister's dare to Centre

Tamil Nadu IT and Digital Services Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Wednesday mounted a sharp defence of the state’s language policy, daring the Centre to “do better” if it wants Tamil Nadu to reconsider its stand on the three-language formula under the National Education Policy (NEP). He made the remarks while speaking at India Today's Tamil Nadu Roundtable event.

When asked about the three-language formula, the Minister clarified that the DMK government is not opposed to Hindi as a language, but to what it calls its imposition through policy.

“We are anti-Hindi imposition, not anti-Hindi,” he said. “If someone wants us to even contemplate listening to them, they have to do things better than us.”

Thiaga Rajan questioned why Tamil Nadu should alter its long-standing two-language policy to align with what he described as a system favouring Hindi-speaking states.

“Whoever wants to speak Hindi, they can. But no one can dictate to me how I shape my curriculum,” PTR said. “Why should we adapt to them? It becomes three languages for us, while it is effectively one language for the Hindi belt and two for us.”

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