No language will be imposed on any state, says HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal

After a controversy broke out in Tamil Nadu over the three-language formula, Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Saturday said that no language would be imposed on any state.

"The committee was formed for drafting New Education Policy. That committee has given its report. The report of the committee is only received by the Ministry. That's not the policy. No language will be imposed on any state," HRD Minister Pokhriyal told ANI.

"We have received the draft report to take suggestions from the people. Somewhere this misunderstanding has happened. People think that this has become policy," he added.

"Secondly, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and our government have decided that we will respect all Indian languages with full power and develop them. There shouldn't be any controversy over this matter," he said.

Earlier today, several political parties had warned the Centre of a language war over 'attempts' to impose Hindi. Leaders cutting across party lines in Tamil Nadu said the state has a history on the language issue and would not tolerate any imposition.

DMK president MK Stalin said the BJP government at the Centre should not even think in a dream about the three-language policy and warned that such "greedy" things will cause the disaster.

"The BJP government should not even think about the three-language policy in Tamil Nadu. In Tamil Nadu, having a two-language policy is like honeycomb and BJP is trying to throw a stone at it by inflicting a three-language policy again. BJP should not even think about it in its dreams. Such greedy and wrong thing will cause the disaster," he said.

The draft of New Education Policy prepared by Kasturirangan Committee was released on Friday, which spoke of the continuation of three-language formula in the schools.

TNCC president KS Alagiri said the people of Tamil Nadu will not allow the imposition of Hindi in the state. He said the Congress was not opposed to any language. "It is up to the students to learn any language of their choice," he said.

MDMK president Vaiko warned that a language war will break out if any attempt is made to impose language in Tamil Nadu while the rebel AIADMK leader TTV Dinakaran said that any such proposal would destroy Indian's pluralism and make Tamils second class citizens.

Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan said: "I have acted in many Hindi films. However, in my opinion, Hindi should not be imposed on anyone."

Allaying the fears of all concerned, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said: Only a report has been submitted on the new education policy. The government has not taken any decision in this regard. It has not even considered the report."

"After we get the public feedback, the draft report will come up before the government for consideration. More importantly, the NDA government has always promoted all Indian languages. Therefore, there is no intention of imposing any language on anybody. We want to promote all Indian languages," Javadekar told the media.