“Today, it stands to the glory of India that we have so many languages—from the north to the south, from the west to the east—each of which, in its own way, has contributed to shaping Indian life and civilisation as we know it today.”
— Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, in the Constituent Assembly on 13th September 1949
India has always been a nation of immense diversity, where language changes every 20 kos. The responsibility of preserving this diversity, both politically and socially, has always been a mission of the Bharatiya Janata Party (formerly, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh).
The essence of India's diversity can only be understood and appreciated by a party with Indian roots. The Congress, founded by Allan Octavian Hume, a British civil servant, on December 28, 1885, was shaped by a Western ideology of monism in all aspects, fostering an anti-diversity attitude in its DNA. This legacy continues under the present Congress leadership, whose connections and allegiance to foreign ideologies remain evident.
Historical Disregard
“Genuine harmony must come from the heart. It cannot come from the barrel of a gun.”
— Dalai Lama XIV
Suppressing regional languages or imposing a specific language is one of the worst forms of cultural imposition. A look at history takes us back to 1937, when the Congress first came to power in the Madras Presidency under the leadership of C. Rajagopalachari. Within nine months of his tenure, he issued a government order making the teaching of Hindi compulsory in 125 secondary schools. Despite widespread criticism, including from Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the order was not withdrawn.
As expected, this triggered the anti-Hindi movement, which parties like Congress and the DMK have since exploited to fabricate a North-South divide for political gain.
BJP's Commitment
As of 2025, India faces a stark contrast. On one hand, Prime Minister Modi is actively promoting mother languages through the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Paragraph 4.11 of the NEP states that, wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5—preferably until Grade 8 and beyond—should be the home language, mother tongue, local language, or regional language. Even after this stage, the home/local language will continue to be taught as a subject.
The NIPUN Bharat Mission emphasises teaching in the mother tongue, as outlined in its guidelines. Programmes like Vidya Pravesh (a three-month school readiness programme) and NISHTHA FLN reinforce this approach.
In contrast, Congress and its allies continue to undermine India's linguistic heritage for appeasement and regional politics.
Since 2023, Congress has tried to capitalise on a pro-Kannada sentiment for political mileage. Yet, its Karnataka government issued an order encouraging English-medium education from the primary level, citing an effort to “strengthen children's learning ability” in government schools—an ironic move that contradicts their pro-Kannada rhetoric.
Adding to the irony, just 15 days after this order, UNICEF published a research article affirming that children learn best when taught in their mother tongue—a fact already enshrined in NEP 2020.
Congress's duplicity extends to its alliance partner, the DMK. During his Namakku Naame campaign, M.K. Stalin assured the Muslim community that Urdu would be made compulsory in schools if the DMK came to power and even promised to enact a law enforcing this. While the DMK aggressively undermines Indian languages like Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, and Hindi, it openly supports the imposition of Urdu, raising serious questions about fairness and consistency.
In 2024, Tamil Nadu's School Education Department granted a one-time exemption for linguistic minority students from writing the Tamil language paper in Class 10 exams, citing a lack of Tamil teachers. Yet, the same government has been relentless in imposing Tamil on others, exposing its double standards.
The Congress-led INDI Alliance governments reflect this anti-diversity approach. The century-old Madhika language, spoken by the Chakaliya community that migrated from Karnataka centuries ago, is now on the brink of extinction as younger generations shift to Malayalam. Despite ruling Kerala for decades, Congress and its allies have done nothing to preserve the language.
In Jharkhand, where the Congress-JMM alliance is in power, the recruitment of professors for nine tribal languages has been pending for decades. Though a vacancy was announced in 2022, the hiring process remains stalled three years later.
At the same time, the Jharkhand government removed regional languages like Bhojpuri, Magahi, and Angika (spoken by 2.6 million people) from examinations, a blatant act of linguistic discrimination.
Congress's 60-Year Apathy
According to a UNESCO report, 40% of the global population lacks access to education in their native language. This highlights how Congress's 60-year rule neglected regional languages, depriving India's youth of opportunities and weakening linguistic diversity.
In contrast, the BJP has consistently championed regional languages:
- NEET is now conducted in 13 regional languages, allowing more students to pursue medical education.
- AICTE has introduced engineering courses in eight regional languages, making technical education more accessible.
- Under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, classical language status was granted to:
- Marathi (despite Congress ruling Maharashtra for 50 years),
- Assamese (where BJP formed its first government in 2016 after Congress's 50-year rule),
- Bengali (where Congress ruled for 30 years, and BJP is yet to form a government).
As PM Modi rightly said, “There is no competition among Indian languages; every language enriches the other.”
His vision is clear—respect, promote, and preserve India's linguistic diversity. On the other hand, Congress's historical and ongoing actions reveal an inclination towards linguistic suppression, hypocrisy, and appeasement politics.
People must decide who truly stands for India's diversity—Prime Minister Modi, who strengthens regional languages, or Congress, which has systematically undermined them.
(The author is National Spokesperson, Bharatiya Janata Party)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
