Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the new National Education Policy (NEP) will give due importance to every language in the country, doing justice to students and forcing those who do politics over language for spreading hate to shut shop.
“The National Educational Policy will give due respect and credit to every language in the country…. Those who do politics over language for their selfish interests to run their nafrat ki dukaan (business of spreading hate) will now have to shut shop,” Modi said while delivering the inaugural address at an event to mark the third anniversary of the launch of the NEP.
The two-day Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Samagam is being held at Bharat Mandapam at the old Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
The Prime Minister underlined that several developed countries have got an edge owing to their focus on local languages and said, “Education in the mother tongue is initiating real justice for the young talent in India. It is also a very significant step towards social justice”.
Giving the example of Europe, he said most countries make use of their own native languages. The PM lamented that even though India has an array of established languages, they were presented as a sign of backwardness and those who cannot speak English were neglected and their talent was not recognised. “What can be more unfortunate than this… Children in the rural areas were the most affected. The country has now begun to shun this inferiority complex with the advent of the NEP. Even at the United Nations, I speak in the Indian language,” the PM said.
“The world is looking at India as a nursery of new possibilities. Many countries are approaching us to open IIT campuses there. Two IIT campuses – one in Tanzania and one in Abu Dhabi – are already about to start operations…. Various global universities are also reaching out to us, expressing their interest in setting up campuses in India,” he added.
Modi said the NEP aims at making India a hub of research and innovation and has given equal importance to traditional knowledge systems and futuristic technology.
