TNCC President B Manickam Tagore Demands Withdrawal Of CBSE Three-Language Policy

On Saturday in Chennai, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president B Manickam Tagore strongly condemned the Union government's mandatory three-language policy for CBSE schools, calling it an indirect imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi-speaking states. In an official statement, Tagore demanded the immediate withdrawal of the policy, which he characterized as a "cruel attack" on students and parents that threatens India's unity.

According to Tagore, the Centre made the three-language policy mandatory for class VI in Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools starting from the current academic year. This move was implemented under the framework of the National Education Policy.

He noted that while the CBSE had initially proposed extending this three-language policy to class IX during the current academic year, the board ultimately rolled back the decision following widespread opposition from various quarters.

Tagore raised concerns about the practical implications of the policy, explaining that replacing foreign languages such as French and German with an Indian language would limit students' options. He argued that this change would effectively force students to choose either Hindi or Sanskrit, due to the lack of availability of teachers for other languages.

Recalling political history, the TNCC president referenced former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's historical assurance that English would continue to be used as an official language for as long as non-Hindi-speaking states desired it. He added that this assurance was subsequently reinforced through legal safeguards by former Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi.

Tagore concluded by urging the Centre to withdraw the mandatory policy and leave school education decisions entirely to the states. He pointed out that education is currently on the concurrent list, meaning both the state and central governments share equal responsibility, and argued that states should manage their own school education systems.