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Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the Centre is not imposing any language and states and students have full choice under the two- and three-language formula.
“We are not imposing any language on anybody,” says Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at IIT Madras.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday (September 21, 2025) said the Centre was not forcing any language on people and dismissed claims of language imposition as “politically motivated” as reported by news agency PTI.
Speaking to reporters in Chennai, in the presence of IIT Madras Director Professor V. Kamakoti after attending the ‘Think India Dakshinapatha Summit 2025,’ Mr. Pradhan said, “We are not imposing any language on anybody. For Class 1 and 2, there will be two language formula. One will be mother tongue. Here, it will be Tamil language. Government of India’s condition is that you have to teach in Tamil in primary school. You can teach another language that is your choice.”
Explaining the three-language policy, he added, “From Class six to ten there is three language formula. One language will be mother tongue. The rest two will be your choice. No language will be imposed by the Government of India on any State.”
When asked how the policy is being followed in Uttar Pradesh, the Minister said, “We are implementing in that State also. Many State governments, forget BJP ruled States, are implementing three language policy, prior to National Education Policy. In Uttar Pradesh, a student will learn Hindi, as mother tongue. After that, they may opt for learning Marathi and Tamil also. Some student in U.P., can take Tamil as a third language. U.P. government has to provide the facility to teach Tamil.”
Mr. Pradhan also pointed out that only about 10% of India’s population speaks English, while most people prefer their mother tongue. He quoted Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, saying, “He would encourage Telugu speaking students to learn as many as 10 languages so that every Telugu boy would become ‘globally competitive’ and they would be proficient in different languages.”
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Calling language a “facilitator,” the Minister said, “Those with politically narrow ideas are creating this problem.”
Sharing his personal view, he said, “I have toured all part of Tamil Nadu. It is essentially a linguistic State. I am Odia. I am very proud of my Odia language. But I am also proud of other Indian languages.”
He further added, “With full responsibility, I am telling you today, those who want to create this language division, they have failed. Society is moving way ahead of them.”
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September 22, 2025, 09:28 IST
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