Jayalalithaa opposes Hindi as primary language in Tamil Nadu universities - Livemint

Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa insisted that Tamil should be the official language in the state. Photo: Hindustan Times

Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa on Thursday challenged a Union home ministry circular seeking to make Hindi the primary language in universities in the southern state, saying the circular is not “legal”.

“At a time when I have been emphasizing to the central government that Tamil should be made an official language, and to use Tamil in the Madras high court, they are trying to impose to teach law and commerce in Hindi in Tamil Nadu universities, which is neither right nor legal,” said the chief minister in a press statement published in Tamil.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) sent a circular to Anna University and Alagappa University on Tuesday saying Hindi should be their main language.

“The decision taken by the Central Hindi Committee in July 2011 would not bind the universities of Tamil Nadu. Chief secretary Mohan Varghese Chunkath has been directed to advise the government-run universities to inform the UGC in this regard,” Jayalalithaa said.

Earlier, two local constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) that rules at the Centre—Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK)—had protested against the circular. They called it an attempt by the central government to impose Hindi and sought its immediate withdrawal.

The Official Languages Act, 1963, states that English shall be used for purposes of communication in states that have not adopted Hindi as their official language.

According to the Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) Rules, 1976, Tamil Nadu and a few other states fall in what has been categorised as “Region C”. Communication from the central government to non-central government offices or persons in these states shall be in English, according to the rules.

The states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Punjab, and the Union territories of Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli come under “Region B”, and any communication from the central government office to them shall be in Hindi. If any communication is issued to any of them in English, it shall be accompanied by a Hindi translation.

“Therefore, the UGC circular sent to Tamil Nadu universities will not be applicable,” Jayalalithaa said.

S. Ramadoss , founder of PMK, said just because many universities, including those in Tamil Nadu, received UGC grants, they cannot be used as “tools of Hindi imposition”. He said it was not clear if the Centre had consulted the states on this issue and urged the Centre to “drop” its efforts to “impose Hindi”.

MDMK leader Vaiko alleged that besides the advisory to the universities, central departments including the railways and insurance companies have been asked to promote Hindi.

“The Centre’s decision to impose Hindi... will have its own repercussions,” he said while demanding the withdrawal of the latest order.

Hindi is a sensitive issue in Tamil Nadu, with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party under its founder C.N. Annadurai successfully having led a major anti-Hindi agitation in 1965.

PTI contributed to this story.