NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the Tamil Nadu government’s plea seeking the recall of an interim order directing it to identify land for establishing Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas across all districts, firmly observing that the state must change its mindset because Hindi cannot be kept off its soil. A bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih granted the state administration three months to identify suitable land parcels while instructing officials from both Chennai and New Delhi to engage in constructive dialogue over the contentious language issue.
Stressing the imperative of cooperative federalism, the bench remarked that adding centrally funded residential schools would not lower educational standards in Tamil Nadu, nor should the state perceive the initiative as a threat to its existing framework. The judges noted that people in Chennai should not alienate Delhi and vice versa, underscoring that educational collaboration between the Union and the states must be fostered through mutual engagement rather than rigid confrontation.
During the proceedings, senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, representing Tamil Nadu, reiterated the state’s long-standing opposition to the three-language formula embedded in the Navodaya school framework, arguing that it directly clashes with the state’s statutory two-language policy established under the Tamil Nadu Tamil Learning Act of 2006. The counsel expressed deep apprehension that the central initiative represents a backdoor attempt to impose Hindi and diminish the primacy of the Tamil language within the state.
Rejecting the state’s request to stall the land identification process, the top court questioned whether a federating unit could outright refuse to implement a national educational scheme, particularly when Navodaya schools in non-Hindi speaking regions predominantly utilize regional languages or English. Reminding both sides to resolve administrative and linguistic friction at the negotiating table, the bench scheduled the next hearing in the matter for December 14.
