Amidst the standoff between Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and the centre over the Three Language Formula, we take a look at the history of the controversial policy
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M K Stalin recently called the Three Language Formula and its possible implementation in Tamil Nadu, a “laughing stock”. In a political tussle with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)— with whom his party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham, is often at loggerheads on ideological grounds— he vehemently challenged the policy which could be brought in through the National Education Policy.
On X, Stalin wrote: “I challenge them to make this their core agenda in the 2026 Assembly elections and let it be a referendum on Hindi imposition.” His response on social media came after his state government was threatened by the Centre that the funds under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan would be withheld if the state did not properly implement the National Education Policy.
The cause of anxiety is the third language--Hindi. Primarily the native tongue of many in North India, it is one of the two official languages of the country, along with English. It is, however, not the national language because the constitution recognises the multiplicity of regional languages and dialects.
Hindi took on a negative connotation in Tamil Nadu after early attempts post-Independence to make it the link language in India. It was considered an Aryan language by some scholars, including anti-caste Tamil scholar Periyar, the founder of the Dravidian movement that birthed the DMK, who believed it has ties to Brahmanical values that are inherently supportive of the caste system.
The Three Language Formula was first brought up as a possibility in 1964 by the National Education Commission, which was set up by Daulat Singh Kothari, a renowned Indian Physicist and Educationist. Kothari라이브 바카라 commission recommended the formula after taking stock of the dominance of Hindi, and decided that along with English and the regional language, educational institutions should add the language to the roster. This was never implemented in its entirety, but it laid the grounds for Hindi being considered the language that could be placed alongside English and the regional language in terms of material and social value.
In 1968, Indira Gandhi라이브 바카라 government drafted the National Education Policy, which adopted the Three Language Formula.
In its official documents, it becomes clear that the NEP viewed Hindi as a “link language”. The document in 1968 stated: “…in developing Hindi as the link language, due care should be taken to ensure that it will serve, as provided for in Article 351 of the Constitution, as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India. The establishment, in non-Hindi States, of colleges and other institutions of higher education which use Hindi, as the medium of education should be encouraged.” In theory, the underlying idea was that in addition to English, Hindi would serve as a facilitator in conversation in a country that has a vastly heterogeneous language composition.
To this date, the Three Language Formula has not witnessed wide-scale implementation. But the debate around the third language in question has intensified under the BJP regime, whose electoral affinity towards the Northern region, where the Hindi language is primarily spoken, is apparent.
In 2019, a similar tension stirred when the National Education Policy라이브 바카라 adoption of the Three Language Formula was brought up. The Central government had released new a draft of the National Education Policy. It had been prepared by a committee under the leadership of K. Kasturirangan, who headed ISRO from 1994-2003.
The draft had stated, “so long as the study of three languages by students in Hindi-speaking States would continue to include Hindi and English, and one of the modern Indian languages from other parts of India, while the study of languages by students in the non-Hindi-speaking states would include the regional language, Hindi and English.”
According to a report by The Indian Express, only one-fourth of the country is multilingual, with large swathes of people claiming fluency only over their native language. While culture produced in Hindi, like Hindi films, have transcended language barriers, it is harder to ascertain whether the Hindi books and movies are able to move through non-Hindi regions in a way that feels instinctive and intertwined with the local culture.
As a second language, English has far more material and cultural capital. In Whole Numbers and Half Truths, data journalist Rukmini S. noted that English was the second most spoken language in India, with people associating the language with aspiration and ambition.