ON March 6, 2025, the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju claimed that the proposed ‘three-language formula’ in the New Education Policy (‘NEP’) of 2020 was “good for the whole country.” The 2020 policy reiterates the ‘three language formula’, first introduced in the NEP of 1968, which mandated the teaching of Hindi as a language in non-Hindi speaking states. The new policy retains this formula with the slight alteration that it does not impose any particular language on any State. It allows state governments to choose the particular languages, with the condition that two of three languages are native to India.
The Tamil Nadu government, which has implemented a two-language formula despite the 1968 policy so far, has come under pressure from the Union, which has indicated that the state government must impose the policy to enjoy funds under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. However, Tamil Nadu has alleged this to be a “smokescreen” for Hindi imposition.
