ISAS Briefs

The release of the 2019 Draft National Education Policy on 31 May 2019, which recommended the compulsory learning of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states, foreshadows a key cultural element of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s nationalist agenda. There were immediate objections in South India, with Tamil Nadu-based Dravidian parties spotlighting the move as a blatant act of ‘Hindi imposition.’ The controversial reference was withdrawn, but the 2019 Union Budget has allocated Rs 50 crore (S$ 9.5 million) for the support of the appointment of Hindi teachers in non-Hindi states, demonstrating that the Hindi agenda of the BJP is very much alive. The recent statement by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 14 September 2019 that Hindi, as the most spoken language in India, should do the work of uniting India has only added fuel to the fire.