The Supreme Court has rejected a request to withdraw its interim order calling for identification of land for setting up Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in each district in Tamil Nadu, further complicating the controversy surrounding the language policy adopted by the schools.
The court led by Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Augustine George Masih told the state to abide by the previous order and allotted it three months for it to find appropriate land. The court further urged the Tamil Nadu and Central governments to hold further discussion on the policy issues and language concerns in the principle of cooperative federalism.
At the listening, the judge noted the need for a shift in mindset on the subject of Hindi and that Hindi could not be simply written out of the state of Tamil Nadu. The judges were also keen on emphasizing that the differences between the Centre and the State must be resolved through discussion and pacifying ways instead of confrontation.
The Tamil Nadu government has been opposed to the setting up of the Navodaya school stating that the three language regime of the Navodaya school violated the Tamil Nadu Government’s two language policy in the state. The State has also expressed its concern that the implementation of this scheme might result in Hindi being used more than Tamil.
The Centre, however, has clarified before the Supreme Court that this is the case in non-Hindi speaking parts of the country, which addresses some of the state’s fears pertaining to the medium of instruction in Navodaya schools.
The Supreme Court’s new ruling does not really solve the greater language-policy issue. However, Tamil Nadu has been told to continue the land identification process subject to the Centre to State discussions. The issue is to be discussed again in December.