Two days after the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) introduced the trilingual formula under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin accused the Center of “linguistic imposition” and pushing Hindi through a “secret mechanism”, while Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan dismissed the charge as politically motivated and defended the policy as a step towards enabling multilingualism.
CBSE on Thursday announced the phased implementation of the trilingual format of Class 6 in 2026-27, which is scheduled to become fully operational up to Class 10 by 2030-31 in line with NEP 2020.
In his criticism of the CBSE curriculum framework released on Thursday, Stalin, in a post on X, claimed that “…it is a calculated and deeply disturbing attempt at linguistic imposition that justifies our long-standing fears.”
Read also:CBSE is rolling out NEP-aligned trilingual syllabus and a new format for Class 10 board exam
Stalin also claimed that the three-language formula under the NEP 2020 is a “secret mechanism” to expand Hindi. “Under the guise of promoting Hindi languages, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is aggressively pushing a centralist agenda that favors Hindi while systematically marginalizing India’s rich and diverse linguistic heritage. The so-called three-language formula is actually a secret mechanism to expand Hindi to non-Hindi-speaking regions,” he said.
Questioning the lack of reciprocity, he wondered why students in Hindi-speaking states were not made to learn southern languages like Tamil.
Highlighting the challenges in implementing the three-language formula, Stalin cited issues related to availability of teachers, infrastructure and funding, while accusing the Center of “hypocrisy” in promoting the Tamil language in Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs). “India’s strength lies in its diversity – not forced uniformity. Any attempt to upset this delicate balance is not only misguided, it is dangerous. #StopHindiImposition,” he added.
In a direct response by quoting Stalin, Pradhan dismissed the “imposition” narrative as a “tired attempt to hide political failures”, while calling the NEP 2020 a “manifesto of linguistic liberalisation”. He stressed that the NEP gives priority to the mother tongue, allowing every Tamil child to excel in their own language while promoting flexible multilingualism.
“By distorting a flexible policy as ‘mandatory Hindi’, you are not defending the Tamil language; you are creating barriers that deny our youth the opportunity to become multilingual global leaders. The Tamil language is not weakened by learning additional languages; it is enriched when its speakers are multilingual, confident and linguistically proficient,” he added.
Addressing Stalin’s concerns over reciprocity and resources, Pradhan said Tamil Nadu has stopped PM SHRI schools by refusing to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and continues to block Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) despite the Supreme Court’s directions. “It was the DMK government that stopped the establishment of PM SHRI schools in Tamil Nadu… This willful resistance is not just an administrative challenge; it is a direct harm to many underprivileged students,” Pradhan said.
Pradhan urged the Tamil Nadu government to join the national mission: “Stop using the ‘Hindi imposition’ argument to hide administrative failures and join the national mission of empowering every Indian language.”
As per CBSE’s new high school syllabus, the third language (R3) will become compulsory from Class 6 starting from the 2026-27 academic session, with its implementation progressing up to Class 10 by 2030-31. This effectively paves the way for the introduction of a compulsory third language in Class 10 board examinations from 2031, when the current Class 6 batch of boards appear.
Under the revised framework, language learning will follow a structured trilingual model organized into levels R1, R2 and R3. R1 will be the primary or stronger language studied by the student at a higher level, while R2 will be a different language studied at a relatively different level. The third language (R3) will be introduced from the sixth grade in the 2026-2027 academic year and will become compulsory until secondary school. During the transition phase, students will be required to study and pass a third language to be eligible for board examinations.
These changes operationalize ideas first introduced as part of the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023 and are consistent with the NEP 2020, which recommended that students learn three languages up to Year 10, in contrast to the current system, where they study only two languages.
The syllabus specifies that R1 and R2 should be different languages, and even when using the same textbook, the syllabus and assessment will differ across levels, meaning that students may face different question papers and difficulty levels in board exams. In line with NCF-SE 2023, at least two of the three languages must be indigenous to India, the syllabus document states.
According to CBSE chief Rahul Singh, 2027 will be the last Class 10 exam under the current system where each language subject has the same levels, with 2028 introducing separate exam days for R1 and R2, and three-day language exams from 2031 for R1, R2 and R3.
This is not the first clash over this issue. Stalin has repeatedly criticized the NEP in the past and accused the Center of withholding funds as coercion for not adhering to the three-language formula. Meanwhile, Pradhan has been positioning the NEP as comprehensive, focusing on foundational learning in the mother tongue, training teachers through programs like Samagra Shiksha, and preparing students for global opportunities.
