The Indian government has revised a controversial draft bill following strong opposition from the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
The education bill that looked to make Hindi a mandatory third language across the country, removed specifying Hindi as the third language.
The removal has not completely quelled tensions in Tamil Nadu, as the introduction of a third compulsory language is stills seen as a method to impose Hindi.
Speaking over the weekend, the leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MK Stalin, who’s party swept a majority in Tamil Nadu, said, he would ‘wage a war; against the BJP government, adding,
“Imposing Hindi on Tamil Nadu would be similar to throwing stones at a beehive.”
The state teaches only two languages, Tamil and English in the state school curriculum, with strong resistance by all Tamil political parties to a compulsory third language.
On Monday, #HindiIsNotTheNationalLanguage began to trend on Twitter in India, reports the BBC.
Speaking to the BBC a senior political analyst KN Arun said,
“It is true that if you know Hindi you will find it easier to get work in other parts of India, so there are also many people here who willingly learn it. But that should b their choice. What people are opposing is the imposition of it.”
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