How the two-language policy impacted the teachers of other languages in 1968 Premium

The 1968 two-language policy in Tamil Nadu significantly impacted Hindi and Sanskrit teachers, creating urgent employment and administrative challenges.

On January 23, 1968, against the backdrop of Parliament passing the Official Languages (Amendment) Act, the first DMK government, headed by C.N. Annadurai, adopted a resolution in the Madras Assembly scrapping the three-language formula in the State. The resolution decided that Tamil and English alone be taught and Hindi be eliminated from the curriculum of all the schools. The decision taken in the middle of the academic year had placed hundreds of other language teachers in a piquant situation.

“The wonder expressed by the school authorities and teachers is how the Government, which has given immediate effect to the switchover, will tackle the rehabilitation of over 4,000 teachers, who are now teaching Hindi and Sanskrit in about 2,400 schools in the State,” wrote a correspondent of The Hindu in the days immediately following the adoption of the resolution.

“The scrapping of the three-language formula in schools, ordered by the Madras Government in implementing the Assembly resolution, will remove Hindi from most of the schools but will completely wipe out Sanskrit. This is the picture which emerges from talks with headmasters, Hindi and Sanskrit teachers and educational experts,” the report said.

A perusal of The Hindu Archives showed their concern stemmed from the fact that most of the Hindi pandits did not have the minimum general qualification of SSLC. They had studied only up to the Fifth or Eighth Standard, but studied Hindi to an advanced stage (Praveen). “In fact, to many of them, Hindi teaching is the only avocation for which they are equipped. Sanskrit pandits too are more or less in the same condition. It is pointed out that quite a number of Sanskrit pandits took to Hindi five or six years ago when it assumed importance in the school curriculum. There are some pandits who have the minimum general qualification and who may, therefore, be absorbed as clerks or Secondary Grade teachers or librarians, after being given some training for these jobs. But these steps of rehabilitation could not be straight away taken now, because it is the middle of the school year. After the introduction of free education in the secondary schools, the number of clerical staff had been drastically cut and the chances of the Hindi pandits being absorbed in those posts are not bright, it is stated,” said a report.

Parents whose children were studying languages such as Urdu and Malayalam were also concerned about the suspension of these languages along with Hindi. They asked why should other languages be abolished to counter Hindi imposition. Their views were represented through M. Chelliah, the Vice-Chairman, at the Municipal Council meeting in February. He urged the government to clearly state its stand on the teaching of other languages in the State.

Joint Director of Secondary Education V.T. Titus had also held meetings with the District Education Officers of Madurai, Tiruchi, and Thanjavur on ways to offer alternative employment to the language teachers. One of the possibilities that was explored was the deployment of these teachers to handle general subjects.