Hindi useful for communicating in Delhi, says Chandrababu Naidu amid row over language policy

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said that “unnecessary politics” should not be played over learning languages, and that learning Hindi helps to communicate better in places such as Delhi, The Indian Express reported.

Addressing the Legislative Assembly, the Telugu Desam Party chief said that “there is no harm in learning other languages” even though the mother tongue is important.

Naidu’s remarks come amid Tamil Nadu’s continued opposition to the three-language formula in the National Education Policy and its war of words on the matter with the Centre.

The three-language formula refers to teaching students English, Hindi and the native language of a state. It was introduced in the first National Education Policy in 1968 and was retained in the new policy introduced in 2020.

The Tamil Nadu government, however, says it will not change its decades-old two-language policy of teaching students Tamil and English.

The Telugu Desam Party is an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre.

“Whether you are looking to work in the state, in the country, or outside, skills are important and they can be imparted in the mother tongue only,” Naidu said on Monday. “Learning the mother tongue is of utmost importance.”

Although some say that knowledge can be gained through English, it is mainly gained through the mother tongue, he said.

“Let me...

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