Tamil Nadu churns out global honchos with bilingual policy, says CPI

CHENNAI: Condemning Governor RN Ravi’s remarks that Tamil Nadu’s two-language policy had placed its youth at a disadvantage compared to their peers from neighbouring states, CPI state secretary R Mutharasan on Friday said that the State has produced global leaders in various industries from Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google to Dr V Narayanan, Chairman of ISRO with the same language mocked at by the gubernatorial head.

In a statement, Mutharasan took strong exception to the Governor’s remarks made while addressing startup investors in Tirunelveli. The Governor’s claims saying that the State’s resistance to learning additional languages, particularly Hindi, had limited opportunities for Tamil youth is flawed, the Left leader said.

CPI leader said that the State’s bilingual policy has never hindered progress.”Tamil Nadu has produced global leaders in various industries including PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi. The Governor conveniently ignores these achievements while falsely claiming that the State’s language policy has led to setbacks,” he said.

He further asserted that the State has always encouraged multilingualism and that the resistance to the NEP is not about rejecting languages but about protecting Tamil from Hindi imposition. He accused Governor Ravi of attempting to hide the real agenda behind the NEP, which said prioritises Hindi at the expense of Tamil.

Mutharasan also criticised Ravi’s claim that learning Hindi would lead to better job opportunities. He pointed out that more than 10 per cent of India’s youth aged 15-29 remain unemployed, despite Hindi being widely spoken. “Instead of upholding his Constitutional responsibilities, Governor Ravi continues to act as an RSS propagandist. We strongly condemn his divisive and misleading remarks,” he added.

The rebuttal comes in the backdrop of Governer’s remarks. Wading into the language row, Governor RN Ravi on Friday said the “rigid” two-language policy of the State government has deprived youth in the southern parts of TN of opportunities.

South TN has become a “neglected backyard,” he said.