Tamil Nadu has been resisting the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 because it undermines the state’s inclusive educational framework and imposes Hindi and Sanskrit. To pressure the state to comply with the NEP, the union government withheld a fund of ₹2,152 crores it was supposed to release towards programmes in education in the state. The irony of this action on an effective education system couldn’t be starker. In fact, the present DMK government in Tamil Nadu has been recognized for its student welfare initiatives, which include initiatives such as the Breakfast Scheme and a ₹1,000 stipend for undergraduate female students under the ‘Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Ninaivu Puthumai Penn Thittam’. Various other direct and indirect financial assistance programmes have also been instituted to support students. The Dr B.R. Ambedkar Higher Education Scholarship to facilitate studies abroad has been particularly successful and ₹60 crore has been allocated for the programme in the upcoming academic year.
Despite contributing 9.8 percent to the GDP and supporting the Union government by paying ₹1,12,456 crore[1] in GST in 2024 alone, the Union government threatens to withhold education funds due to Tamil Nadu. There is no constitutional provision that compels the state government to comply with all the policies of the Union government on education, which is a concurrent subject under the Constitution and hence both Parliament and the state assembly are can make laws on education. Accordingly, the Tamil Nadu Assembly had passed a resolution on a two-language policy (of teaching Tamil and English in schools) in 1968 during the chief ministership of C.N. Annadurai. Nevertheless, the Union government has arbitrarily threatened to implement its three-language policy in Tamil Nadu. The reason is straightforward: the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-backed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime wants to impose its ideology on the people of Tamil Nadu through the NEP.
Recently, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan cast aspersions on the Tamil Nadu government and sought to justify the withholding of funds, saying, “They are politically motivated. They are not for the welfare of Tamil Nadu … They are doing mischief … But they have to come to terms with the Indian Constitution. How can they think they are above the Constitution? They have to accept the National Education Policy in letter and spirit. All parts of the country have accepted the policy, why not them?”
Tamil Nadu IT Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan reacted to Pradhan’s comment thus: “NEP 2020 is not a Parliament-approved policy mandating states to follow, and there is no clause in the Appropriation Bill that money shall not be released to states unless the policy is implemented. Therefore, it is beyond the ambit of the Constitution, and of the principles of disbursement of funds already appropriated through Parliament’s approval. While NEP 2020 is only a suggestion, the previous two NEPs drafted in 1968 and 1986, which was updated in 1992, had Parliamentary assent. Even they were not enforced with any diktat, threat, arm twisting, or compulsion.”
This is not an isolated incident. The Draft UGC Regulations 2025 aims to change the appointment process for vice-chancellors at state universities, allowing the representatives of the central government (as nominees of the Chancellor, who is the governor of the state, and the UGC) to have the majority in a three-member selection committee, the third member being a nominee of the apex governing body of the university like the Senate or Syndicate[2]. Earlier the governor had reserved assent on Bills that sought to prevent the stalling of appointments in universities through the governor’s intervention. R.N. Ravi, the governor, was perceived to be a representative of the RSS, seeking to undermine the Dravidian education system. For instance, Governor Ravi delayed the appointment of the vice chancellors in several universities, including the most prominent state university, Anna University. As the chancellor of state universities, he was invited to preside over convocations; either he made himself unavailable to delay the convocations, or he used the convocations to propagate the RSS-BJP agenda. In the case of Periyar University, Salem, the vice chancellor was accused of corruption, yet the governor stepped in to give him a yearlong extension.
However, a recent Supreme Court verdict in State of Tamil Nadu vs the Governor of Tamil Nadu over the Bills awaiting assent effectively took away the powers of the Governor to appoint and remove vice-chancellors of universities.
Mandatory Sanskrit and Hindi
The NEP 2020 introduces a three-language formula for schools. While the state language and English are mandatory, a third language is to be one of a few options, and often ends up being Hindi or Sanskrit. The promotion of Sanskrit, a language that many consider to be “dead”, raises questions. Most initiatives of the union government have been named in either Sanskrit or Hindi, and funding has been disproportionately allocated to the promotion of these two languages, often at the expense of regional languages[3].
This language policy puts additional burden on the children and affects everyday learning but also has implications for entrance examinations. With the entrance examinations demanding proficiency in these languages, they filter out first-generation students from socially and educationally disadvantaged communities.
Imposing entrance examination
Even when entrance examinations are often blamed for depriving first-generation students of access to education, the NEP 2020 aims to introduce these exams for all higher educational institutions. During his tenure from 2006 to 2011, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi abolished entrance examinations in the state, which facilitated access to higher educational institutions for first-generation graduates and the gross enrolment ratio became double the national average.
The Union government has already imposed entrance exams, such as NEET, which have altered inclusive educational systems and weakened the educational framework in southern states. Additionally, other entrance examinations, including the CUET-UG and CUET-PG for arts and science courses in central universities, have been introduced. For PhD admissions, the UGC-NET has become a mandatory national-level test. The argument for imposing entrance exams is rooted in the desire to maintain merit and quality in education, based on the presumption that admitting students from reserved categories will lower quality. However, there is a lack of diversity in higher education institutions. Prestigious institutions like IITs, NITs, and NLUs have failed to implement even the mandatory reservations in admissions and recruitments.
Students’ performance in school board examinations is often overlooked, as admissions now rely solely on entrance exams, rendering the purpose of 12 years of education almost meaningless.
On the one hand, an environment of the proliferating coaching industry, along with predatory schools and ineffective testing agencies like the National Testing Agency, has led to paper leaks, corruption and even student deaths. On the other hand, Tamil Nadu’s doctor-patient ratio is seven times higher than the national average, achieved without centralized entrance examinations. The quality of doctors was evident during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
To sum up, this RSS-backed regime seems intent on implementing regressive policies that threaten the socially inclusive framework established by the Dravidian Rule in Tamil Nadu.
Vedas, Agamas, Puranas – Indian Knowledge System
The RSS regime now has no qualms about including texts that preach caste inequality in curriculums. For example, the University of Delhi has introduced the Manusmriti, Vedas, Agamas, Puranas, and Itihasas as part of the syllabus for the Indian jurisprudence course for LLB students. This course has been made mandatory for students. Additionally, the university has launched a master’s programme in Hindu Studies.
Recently, the director of IIT Madras reviewed the medicinal properties of cow urine, claiming it has health benefits. Similarly, IITs have introduced a new programme called the Indian Knowledge Systems, and substantial funding has been allocated for research, seminars, conferences and various other initiatives. But what exactly is the Indian Knowledge System? It essentially involves revisiting religious texts and attempting to promote them as antecedents of modern scientific advancements.
Agitation against impositions – Dravidian land’s virtue
The battle between Aryan and Dravidian identities has persisted for several millennia, often characterized by violence and cunning strategies on the part of the Aryans and firm resistance on the part of the Dravidians. The Dravidian Movement in Tamil Nadu has consistently resisted the imposition of “Aryan” frameworks in educational institutions.
The prolonged agitation against Brahmanical dominance began in 1938 when a Brahmin, C. Rajagopalachari, governed the then Madras State. His administration’s push to impose Hindi sparked widespread protests led by Periyar and the Dravidian movement. After thousands, including women and children, were arrested for expressing their dissent, the Brahmanical government rescinded its order. A similar resistance emerged in 1953 when the Rajaji-led regime introduced a new educational scheme called “Kula Kalvi Thittam” aimed at encouraging caste occupations and institutionalizing caste hierarchies. The protests organized by Periyar and the DMK cadres compelled Rajaji to resign, marking an early setback for Congress in the state. These movements laid the foundation for Tamil Nadu’s robust educational system.
The Dravidian governments, in alliance with social movements like Dravidar Kazhagam, implemented a language policy and prioritized social welfare over religious considerations, leading to significant strides on various human development indices comparable to many developed Western nations.
Even today, the Aryan-Dravidian struggle continues subtly, such as through educational policies of the union government. The NEP has become a tool in this ideological conflict, aimed at dismantling the hard-won socio-educational achievements of the Dravidian movement. Tamil Nadu is the only state governed by a party that has its roots in an anti-caste movement. The social justice demands of this movement have influenced government policies, from the communal Government Order of 1921 to the present 69 per cent reservation system. This reflects the state’s commitment to inclusive education for Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes and minority communities. States like Bihar, Telangana, and Karnataka have followed suit adopting social welfare policies aimed at benefiting the masses.
Failure of the Centre’s education policy
The Tamil Nadu education system stands out as a remarkable success story. The Dravidian government has established a well-structured educational framework that has turned the state to an educational heavyweight. Tamil Nadu’s gross enrolment ratio of 49.1 per cent in higher education is significantly higher than the national average of just 28.5 per cent. This achievement can largely be attributed to the effective implementation of its language policy. As a continuation of the Dravidian movement, public education in Tamil Nadu has reached levels that are comparable to the Western countries. Notably, the state government made these strides even while education remained a concurrent subject.
Choosing English over mother tongue
When the imposition of languages on Tamil Nadu is questioned, there is a common retort: what prevents the state from learning Hindi, the language spoken by the majority in the nation, when it is eager to learn English, a language rooted in colonialism? Periyar E.V.R. advocated for learning English, emphasizing its unique role in unifying the world as a common medium of communication. He had even criticized Tamil as a primitive language that hindered progress and said that it should be abandoned if necessary. Thus, the commitment of Dravidian leaders to combat cultural primitiveness extends to scrutinizing their own language when needed. Their opposition to the imposition of Hindi should be viewed from a broader perspective, not merely as a conservative effort to preserve their language.
If, against all odds, Tamil were to be declared a national language in the near future, the first voice of opposition would likely emerge from Tamil Nadu. This is because Dravidian leaders firmly believe that it would not be a level playing field if competition arose between speakers of two diverse mother tongues.
As Periyar himself stated, “Although I have no doubt that Tamil is better and more useful than the vernacular and Hindi languages, I would like to state that if we want to progress faster, English should be the political language and the language of instruction, that English should be written in Tamil script, and that it would be beneficial for English to be our spoken language”[4]. Today, Professor Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd argues that access to English education is crucial for the Shudras to catch up with the educated “Dwijas”.[5]
Therefore, each state should be granted autonomy over its educational policies, which can only be achieved if education is returned to the state list. Education should become more scientific and rational. Promoting Brahmanical Hinduism, which perpetuates caste hierarchy, will constrain advancement of education. In a nation where caste persists but colonialism is a thing of the past, the focus should be on debrahmanization of education rather than decolonization. By abolishing entrance examinations and ensuring proportional representation, education should be democratized.
References
[1] Latest GST collections and top 10 states in India by GST revenue, Forbes, 2 May 2025. Accessed at https://www.forbesindia.com/article/explainers/gst-revenue-collections/93414/1
[2] Draft UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025. Accessed at https://www.ugc.gov.in/pdfnews/3045759_Draft-Regulation-Minimum-Qualifications-for-Appointment-and-Promotion-of-Teachers-and-Academic-Staff-in-Universities-and-Colleges-and-Measures-for-the-Maintenance-of-Standards-in-HE-Regulations-2025.pdf
[3] Promotion of classical languages: More funds for Sanskrit; less for Tamil, Telugu & Kannada, The New Indian Express. Accessed at https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2023/Apr/30/promotion-of-classical-languages-more-funds-for-sanskritless-for-tamil-telugu-kannada-2570851.html
[4] Language and Knowledge, https://www.keetru.com/index.php/2014-03-08-04-35-27/2014-03-08-12-18-14/25876——9
[5] Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, For Shudras and Adivasis to have a shot at a better life, English language education is essential, https://scroll.in/article/1021539/for-shudhras-and-adivasis-to-have-a-shot-at-a-better-life-english-language-education-is-essential
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