Hindi Mandate Row: Kerala HC Stays Lakshadweep Administration's Move To Exclude Mahal, Arabic
The Kerala High Court on Monday stayed the Lakshadweep administration’s recent decision to remove Mahal and Arabic and instead impose Hindi in the curriculum of schools in the Union Territory.
While hearing the case, a bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji observed that changes that impact the language spoken by people must not be implemented in haste but only after due study and consultation with all stakeholders, Bar and Bench reported.
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The order issued by the Director of Education, Union Territory of Lakshadweep on May 14 sparked protests from the locals on the island against mandating Hindi over their traditional languages. As per the order, all schools on Minicoy island would offer Malayalam and English as the first and second languages, and Hindi would replace the local languages Mahal and Arabic as the third languages.
The order was challenged in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Ajas Akber P I, a 29-year-old social worker and president of the National Students Union of India, Lakshadweep Unit. The petition stated that the decision to exclude Mahl and Arabic from the curriculum was made in a haste manner and without adequate consultation or study. In his petition, Akber argued that Mahal is the exclusive language spoken by Minicoy islanders, and it symbolises their tradition and culture.
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By removing the Mahal from the curriculum, the Lakshadweep administration has placed an open challenge to the constitutional rights of a minority community which has distinct traditions and culture, he pointed out. The petitioner further stated that the order is also a violation of National Education Policy 2020 and National Curriculum Framework guidelines 2023.
The court, however, noted that the Lakshadweep Administration failed to submit any material before the Court to show that any such study was undertaken, while ordering the stay.
With the High Court staying the administration’s order, the existing language options, including Arabic and Mahl, will remain in place pending the final hearing of the case.
” Ordinarily, the Court would not interfere in matters of education policy, particularly with respect to the selection of languages in the curriculum. However, this is self-restraint based on the premise that decisions relating to education policy are made by experts in the field after an in-depth study and wide consultation,” the Bench pointed out.
