Even as Dravidian political parties and fringe Tamil groups are getting ready to stall Parliament and launch a series of anti-Hindi agitations all over the State, a widely respected school teacher from Tamil Nadu with more than three decades of teaching experience has made a passionate plea to the Tamil Nadu Government to allow students to learn Hindi.
Dr YR Johnson, former principal of Navodaya Vidyalaya who has also taught in National Defence Academy, Khadakwasala, and Indian Military Academy , Dehradun, in a letter to the School education Minister of Tamil Nadu has made a passionate plea to the State Government to keep politics aside and allow the teaching of Hindi in the State.
Taken aback by the fall in the quality of students churned out by the Government-run schools in Tamil Nadu, Dr Johnson, an authority on Thirukural, the work of Sage Thiruvallur , says that the Tamil icon has not mentioned anywhere that Hindi or other languages should not be taught in Tamil Nadu. “Tamil Nadu is the State which contributed Presidents, administrators, scientists , physicians and scholars of repute before the advent of power politics. Now the situation is such that our students are incapable of crossing the State boundaries in search of a livelihood because of their prro proficiency in languages, especially Hindi and English,” Dr Johnson told The Pioneer.
The veteran educationist wrote a letter to Schools Education Minister KA Sengottayan, asking him to make arrangements to teach Hindi as an optional subject up to Class 10 in all government schools in the State. “Learning a language is a strength and it builds confidence. If the students are taught Hindi, they can go, find jobs all over India and even jobs around the world. As even lot of North Indians have migrated to Tamil Nadu for employment it has become necessary to learn Hindi to deal with them,” said Dr. Johnson in his letter to the Tamil Nadu minister.
Dr Johnson, who is credited with the opening of Tamil Sanghams in all North Indian States where he had worked as a teacher has tried to allay the fears that Tamil Nadu politicians have for Hindi. “In Navodaya Vidyalayas , English and Hindu are taught as compulsory subjects where as Hindu is taught as optional subject. It is because of this that former Navodaya Students dominate in higher education and grab job opportunities. If Hindi is taught as an optional subject in Tamil Nadu, students of the State will have the privilege of learning Hindi like rest of the South Indian students. It is therefore requested to teach Hindi as an optional paper up to class 10 to provide a level playing field to our students,” writes Dr Johnson.
This 71-year-old teacher who has a vast network of students all over the country is not the lone voice in Tamil Nadu demanding the introduction of Hindi as a topic in schools. Dr K Chockalingam, former Vice-Chancellor, M S University, Tirunelveli, is another scholar of repute, who campaigns for Hindi. He pointed out that the Chennai headquartered Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha was established in 1918 by Mahatma Gandhi, who was its President till he breathed his last in 1948. “The ideal tribute to the Mahatma and the people of Tamil Nadu would be to introcuce Hindi in all schools before 2023 when India would observe the 75th anniversary of the country’s freedom from colonial rule,” said Prof Chockalingam. He also said that for every Dravidian politician campaigning against Hindi, there are millions of common men who demand the freedom to learn Hindi.