'Hindi imposition' backlash in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka forces Center to alter draft education plan

After facing flak from leaders of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the inclusion of Hindi in the three-language New Education Policy (NEP) draft, the centre took a U-turn and tweaked the draft which had made learning Hindi as mandatory. "In keeping with the principle of flexibility, students who wish to change one or more of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or Grade 7, so long as they are able to still demonstrate proficiency in three languages...," read the tweaked version of the revised draft. In the original draft, a three-language formula recommended the inclusion of English and Hindi besides mother tongue in the non-Hindi states, while the Hindi-speaking states were to include English and any other Indian language from other parts of India. Many southern states, especially, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka had opposed the policy. While both the ruling and Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu opposed the Centre's move, the JD(U)-Congress dispensation in Karnataka echoed Tamil Nadu's view that that the state would 'not tolerate' any kind of imposition. Source: Indian Express