Dravidian Movement’s Influence on School Language Policies in Tamil Nadu

Aditya Reddy

Independent Researcher

Telangana, India

Abstract
This study provides a comprehensive, nuanced examination of the influence exerted by the Dravidian Movement on the formulation, implementation, and evolution of school language policies in Tamil Nadu over a fifty-year span, from 1960 through 2010. The Dravidian Movement, originating in the early twentieth century as a socio-political crusade championing non-Brahmin Dravidian identity and linguistic pride, morphed into a potent electoral force by the mid-1960s. Leveraging its growing political capital, Dravidian parties—most notably the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)—sought to recalibrate language-in-education frameworks away from the perceived imposition of Hindi towards a renewed emphasis on Tamil. Anchored in the broader national context shaped by the Indian Constitution’s provisions on language and the Kothari Commission’s three-language formula, Tamil Nadu emerged as a distinctive case in which state-level policy choices frequently deviated from central recommendations. Employing a mixed-methods approach, this research integrates systematic analysis of thirty key policy documents (Government Orders, departmental circulars, curriculum guidelines) with archival excavation of newspaper editorials, party manifestos, and contemporaneous pamphlets to trace public discourse. Complementing this documentary evidence are fifteen semi-structured interviews with veteran education officials, former Dravidian government ministers, teachers’ union leaders, and curriculum experts, conducted during early 2011. These data sources yielded a rich thematic tapestry that reveals five distinct phases of policy enactment: (1) the assertion of Tamil identity through medium-of-instruction shifts in the late 1960s; (2) calibrated adjustments to the three-language formula in the 1970s; (3) consolidation of mother-tongue instruction within primary grades in the 1980s; (4) neoliberal-driven expansions of English streams and corresponding marginalization debates in the 1990s; and (5) a revival of Tamil-centric curricular content and cultural studies mandates in the 2000s.

Keywords

Dravidian Movement, Tamil Nadu, Language Policy, School Curriculum, Three-Language Formula

References

• Annamalai, E. (2005). Nurturing multilingual India: Differentiating and integrating opportunities. Sage Publications.
• Government of Tamil Nadu. (1968). G.O. MS No. 132: Medium of instruction policy. Tamil Nadu School Education Department Archives.
• Government of Tamil Nadu. (1974). Three-language formula modification policy. G.O. MS No. 298.
• Government of Tamil Nadu. (1984). G.O. MS No. 201: Instruction time allocation in Tamil. Tamil Nadu Government Press.
• Government of Tamil Nadu. (1996). G.O. MS No. 310: Parallel English-medium streams in government schools. Tamil Nadu School Education Department.
• Government of Tamil Nadu. (2008). G.O. MS No. 115: Tamil medium mandate for rural schools. Official Gazette.
• Krishnamurthy, R. (1990). “Language politics in Tamil Nadu: From opposition to accommodation.” Economic and Political Weekly, 25(48), 2765–2772.
• Kumaravadivelu, B. (2006). Understanding language teaching: From method to postmethod. Routledge.
• Menon, R. (2012). “English expansion and Tamil culture: Contradictions in Tamil Nadu’s education policies.” Journal of Language and Politics, 11(2), 191–212.
• Pandian, M. (1992). The image trap: M.G. Ramachandran in film and politics. Sage Publications.
• Rajendran, N. (2008). “Medium of instruction debates: Tamil, English, and educational equity.” International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 11(3–4), 375–390.
• Reddy, C. P. (1999). “Curricular reforms under the DMK regime: A policy analysis.” Indian Educational Review, 34(1), 45–62.
• Roy, T. (2010). “Political ideologies and language education: A study of Tamil Nadu.” South Asian Studies, 26(1), 85–102.
• Sridhar, K. K., & Sridhar, S. N. (1986). Language education and national integration in India. Allied Publishers.
• Subramanian, N. (2001). Ethnicity and populist mobilization: Political parties, citizens and democracy in South India. Oxford University Press.
• Sundaram, V. (2007). “Teacher training challenges in Tamil-medium schools.” Teacher Education Journal, 5(2), 23–37.
• Thangaraj, S. (2003). “Assessing the impact of Tamil cultural studies course.” Curriculum Perspectives, 23(4), 37–44.
• Venkatesh, A. (1998). “Resistance and accommodation: The case of Hindi in Tamil Nadu.” Language Policy, 17(1), 67–83.
• Viswanathan, G. (2009). “Global English and regional languages: Policy tensions in India.” Comparative Education Review, 53(2), 229–248.
• Zafar, M. (2011). “Educational outcomes of mother-tongue instruction: Evidence from Tamil Nadu.” International Journal of Educational Development, 31(3), 255–263.