Will not tolerate insult to states or BJP authoritarianism: NSUI on Tamil Nadu NEP row

The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) staged a protest outside Delhi's Shastri Bhawan on Wednesday, 12 March, condemning union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s remarks of a day ago — in which he used the epithet "uncivilised" for allegedly the people of Tamil Nadu or its legislators and also accused the DMK government of creating a "fear psychosis" about the three-language formula proposed in the NEP 2020.

On Tuesday, 11 March, Pradhan had criticised the Tamil Nadu government over its stand on the new National Education Policy (NEP), accusing it of creating a "fear psychosis" about the three-language formula while doing little to promote Tamil in the state.

The protest today was led by NSUI Delhi president Ashish Lamba, who accused the BJP government of disrespecting regional identities and linguistic diversity, according to an official statement from the NSUI.

According to the statement, heavy police deployment and barricades were set up to prevent the NSUI activists from marching further. The activists continued their protest, criticising what they termed the BJP’s interference in education.

"Pradhan's remarks are an attack on Tamil Nadu and India’s federal structure. The BJP is imposing its ideology on states, disregarding their autonomy. NSUI will not tolerate this insult to Tamil Nadu or any other state," stated an NSUI office bearer.

Student protestors of the NSUI were seen today bearing placards that read "Uncivilised is BJP-RSS, not Tamil Nadu" and "Uncivilised is Minister Pradhan's mindset, not Tamil Nadu!"

The BJP's National Education Policy is a tool for "authoritarianism" and the NSUI stands with the people of Tamil Nadu against this imposition, the NSUI leader further added.

NSUI has pledged to continue its campaign against the BJP’s attempts to control education and suppress regional voices, the statement concluded.

Last month, Union education minister Pradhan stated that funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme would not be released to Tamil Nadu unless the state fully implemented NEP 2020. He, in turn, accused the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government of "politicising" the new education policy.

With PTI inputs