- The Supreme Court rejected Tamil Nadu's plea to recall the Navodaya Vidyalaya land order
- The court directed Tamil Nadu to find land for Navodaya schools within three months
- Tamil Nadu opposed Navodaya schools fearing Hindi imposition over Tamil language
The Supreme Court has rejected the Tamil Nadu government's petition to recall an interim order on finding land for building Navodaya Vidyalayas in every district in the state. The matter is linked to Tamil Nadu's opposition to the Hindi language, which would be taught in the proposed Navodaya schools.
The court told the state government to find land in three months.
There is a need for a change in mindset, the Supreme Court told the Tamil Nadu government. "Hindi cannot be kept out of the state's soil," it said.
The state should hold talks with the Centre on the language issue in the spirit of cooperative federalism.
The Tamil Nadu government alleged setting up Navodaya schools across the state was an attempt to impose the Hindi language and make it predominant over Tamil.
The Supreme Court's observations came during the hearing of the petition by Tamil Nadu challenging the Madras High Court's order to set up Navodaya schools in each district. The top court declined to recall its interim order to identify land in each district to build the schools.
Justice BV Nagarathna said Navodaya schools are not against the state's policy. She said Tamil Nadu must hold talks with the Centre on the language issue.
Senior lawyer Jaideep Gupta, who appeared for Tamil Nadu, said the Navodaya policy goes against the state's language policy and may make Hindi predominant over Tamil. Justice Nagarathna pointed out Tamil Nadu cannot simply refuse to accept a central government policy.
The state government, however, argued that the policy was optional and courts cannot force a state to implement a government policy while at the same time the Supreme Court highlighted the need for dialogue and cooperative federalism.
The next hearing is on December 14.
Tamil Nadu is the only state without a single Navodaya school. Its opposition is rooted in the apprehension that these schools were an attempt to impose the Hindi language.
