V. Sivankutty, Minister for General Education and Employment, was stiff with the recent NCERT move to give Hindi names to the English medium school texts. The minister strongly opposed the renaming of long-established English textbook titles stating that the measure is a “cultural imposition” by the central government and a “grave illogicality.” By undermining India’s linguistic diversity, the accusation that they are insensitive and unconstitutional.
The English titles, which have been used for decades, are an attack on the linguistic plurality that defines India, Sivankutty said. “It is wrong in the extreme to replace titles that are obviously Hindi, such as ‘Honeysuckle’ with ‘Poorvi’ or calling Class 1 and 2 books ‘Mridang’ and the Class 3 book ‘Santoor’. What these titles do with words is more than just putting a label on something; they color young minds and what they see in the world,” he said.
The minister revealed that English medium students should get English titles in their textbooks, as this is the medium of education. Kerala, like other non-Hindi speaking states, is committed to preserving linguistic and cultural diversity and regional freedoms, he added. Sivankutty says that this decision of NCERT negates federal principles and contravenes the spirit of the Constitution.
NCERT draws its strength from being one of the top institutions of the country, which should have exercised due caution before taking a step as majoritarian as that — he urged NCERT to review and immediately withdraw the renaming decision and appealed to all other state governments to protest at the same time against such a unilateral move. He also added, “Education should empower and unify, not divide and impose.” Sivankutty’s strong remarks are part of larger worries among several of the states that there is too much centralization of education and also perceived favouritism to the Hindi language in national policy-making.
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