The
Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to
Education Act (RTE) is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted on 4
August 2009, which describes the modalities of the importance of free
and compulsory education for children between the age of 6 to 14 years
in India under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. India became one
of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right
of every child when the act came into force on 1 April 2010.The title
of the RTE Act incorporates the words ‘free and compulsory’.
‘Free education’ means that no child, other than a child who has been
admitted by his or her parents to a school which is not supported by the
appropriate Government, shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or
charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and
completing elementary education. ‘Compulsory education’ casts an
obligation on the appropriate Government and local authorities to
provide and ensure admission, attendance and completion of elementary
education by all children in the 6-14 age group. With this, India has
moved forward to a rights based framework that casts a legal obligation
on the Central and State Governments to implement this fundamental child
right as enshrined in the Article 21A of the Constitution, in
accordance with the provisions of the RTE Act.17.
Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009
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The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009
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An Act to provide for free and compulsory education to all the children of the age of six to fourteen years.
Citation Act No. 35 of 2009
Enacted by Parliament of India
Date assented to 26 August 2009
Date commenced 1 April 2010
Related legislation
86th Amendment (2002)
Status: In force
Present
Act has its history in the drafting of the Indian constitution at the
time of Independence but is more specifically to the Constitutional
Amendment of 2002 that
included the Article 21A in the Indian constitution making Education a
fundamental Right. This amendment, however, specified the need for a
legislation to describe the mode of implementation of the same which
necessitated the drafting of a separate Education Bill. It is the 86th
amendment in the Indian Constitution
A rough draft of the bill was prepared in year 2005. It caused
considerable controversy due to its mandatory provision to provide 25%
reservation for disadvantaged children in private schools. The
sub-committee of the Central Advisory Board of Education which prepared
the draft Bill held this provision as a significant prerequisite for
creating a democratic and egalitarian society. Indian Law commission had
initially proposed 50% reservation for disadvantaged students in
private schools.
On 7 May 2014, The Supreme Court of India ruled that Right to Education Act is not applicable to Minority institutions.
Passage
The bill was approved by the cabinet on 2 July 2009. Rajya Sabha passed the bill on 20 July 2009 and the Lok Sabha
on 4 August 2009. It received Presidential assent and was notified as
law on 26 August 2009 as The Children’s Right to Free and Compulsory
Education Act.
The law came into effect in the whole of India except the state of
Jammu and Kashmir from 1 April 2010, the first time in the history of
India a law was brought into force by a speech by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
In his speech, Dr. Singh stated, “We are committed to ensuring that all
children, irrespective of gender and social category, have access to
education. An education that enables them to acquire the skills,
knowledge, values and attitudes necessary to become responsible and
active citizens of India.”
The RTE Act provides for the right of children to free and compulsory
education till completion of elementary education in a neighbourhood
school. It clarifies that ‘compulsory education’ means obligation of the
appropriate government to provide free elementary education and ensure
compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary education
to every child in the six to fourteen age group. ‘Free’ means that no
child shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses
which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary
education.
It makes provisions for a non-admitted child to be admitted to an age appropriate class.
It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate
Governments, local authority and parents in providing free and
compulsory education, and sharing of financial and other
responsibilities between the Central and State Governments.
It lays down the norms and standards relating inter alia to pupil
teacher ratios (PTRs), buildings and infrastructure, school-working
days, teacher-working hours.
It provides for rational deployment of teachers by ensuring that the
specified pupil teacher ratio is maintained for each school, rather than
just as an average for the State or District or Block, thus ensuring
that there is no urban-rural imbalance in teacher postings. It also
provides for prohibition of deployment of teachers for non-educational
work, other than decennial census, elections to local authority, state
legislatures and parliament, and disaster relief.
It provides for appointment of appropriately trained teachers, i.e.
teachers with the requisite entry and academic qualifications.
It prohibits (a) physical punishment and mental harassment; (b)
screening procedures for admission of children; (c) capitation fee; (d)
private tuition by teachers and (e) running of schools without
recognition.
It provides for development of curriculum in consonance with the
values enshrined in the Constitution, and which would ensure the
all-round development of the child, building on the child’s knowledge,
potentiality and talent and making the child free of fear, trauma and
anxiety through a system of child friendly and child centered learning.
Functioning
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 is
about a child’s right to education. It ensures that all children get
free education from class 1 to class 8. To achieve this, the Act lays
down some duties for governments, schools, teachers and parents.
The Act also contains rules on pupil-teacher ratio, teacher
vacancies, penalties for conducting screening tests and punishing
children.
Does this Act apply to all children?
This Act only applies to children between the ages of 6 to 14.
However, children who are more than 14 years old but have not been able
to attend school till class 8, can get free education till class 8 under
this Act.
How does this Act help children?
All children between the ages of 6 to 14 can get free education from
class 1 to class 8, in a nearby government school or aided school.
Children who have never been to school or have dropped out, can get
back to school. They will get admission in a class suitable to their
age.
Children who are poor or underprivileged in some way, can get free education till class 8 in a private school.
Children must be given admission in a school even if they don’t have documents like transfer certificate and age proof.
Children cannot be forced to give tests for getting admission in a school.
Children cannot be asked to leave school or be forced to repeat a class, till they complete class 8.
It is illegal to beat up or harass a child.
Why is the word ‘compulsory’ used?
The word ‘compulsory’ means that it is compulsory for the government
to give free education to all children. It does not mean it is
compulsory for parents to send their children to school.
How can a child get free education in a private school?
Children from ‘disadvantaged groups’ and ‘weaker sections’ can get
free education in a private school. These terms are explained below.
Every private school has to keep 25% of its seats in class 1 for children from ‘disadvantaged groups’ and ‘weaker sections’.
The school has to give free education to these children till class 8.
Please note that both the Central and State/UT Governments have
issued rules which may contain additional or modified requirements which
have to be followed by schools.
The Act makes education a fundamental right
of every child between the ages of 6 and 14 and specifies minimum norms
in elementary schools. It requires all private schools(except the
minority institutions) to reserve 25% of seats for the poor and other
categories of children (to be reimbursed by the state as part of the
public-private partnership plan). Children are admitted in to private
schools based on caste-based reservations. See Page 9 and Point no 4 of This Document.
It also prohibits all unrecognised schools from practice, and makes
provisions for no donation or capitation fees and no interview of the
child or parent for admission.The Act also provides that no child shall be held back, expelled, or
required to pass a board examination until the completion of elementary
education. There is also a provision for special training of school
drop-outs to bring them up to par with students of the same age.
The RTE act requires survyus that will monitor all neighbourhoods,
identify children requiring education, and set up facilities for
providing it. The World Bank education specialist for India, Sam Carlson, has observed:
The RTE Act is the first legislation in the world that puts the
responsibility of ensuring enrolment, attendance and completion on the
Government. It is the parents’ responsibility to send the children to
schools in the US and other countries.
The Right to Education of persons with disabilities until 18 years of
age is laid down under a separate legislation- the Persons with
Disabilities Act. A number of other provisions regarding improvement of
school infrastructure, teacher-student ratio and faculty are made in the
Act.
Implementation and funding
Education in the Indian constitution
is a concurrent issue and both centre and states can legislate on the
issue. The Act lays down specific responsibilities for the centre, state
and local bodies for its implementation. The states have been
clamouring that they lack financial capacity to deliver education of
appropriate standard in all the schools needed for universal education.
Thus it was clear that the central government (which collects most of
the revenue) will be required to subsidise the states.
A committee set up to study the funds requirement and funding initially estimated that Rs
1710 billion or 1.71 trillion (US$38.2 billion) across five years was
required to implement the Act, and in April 2010 the central government
agreed to sharing the funding for implementing the law in the ratio of
65 to 35 between the centre and the states, and a ratio of 90 to 10 for
the north-eastern
states. However, in mid 2010, this figure was upgraded to Rs.
2310 billion, and the center agreed to raise its share to 68%.
There is some confusion on this, with other media reports stating that
the centre’s share of the implementation expenses would now be 70%. At
that rate, most states may not need to increase their education budgets
substantially.
A critical development in 2011 has been the decision taken in
principle to extend the right to education till Class X (age 16) and
into the preschool age range.The CABE committee is in the process of
looking into the implications of making these changes.
Advisory Council on Implementation
The
Ministry of HRD set up a high-level, 14-member National Advisory
Council (NAC) for implementation of the Act. The members include
Kiran Karnik, former president of NASSCOM
Krishna Kumar, former director of the NCERT
Mrinal Miri, former vice-chancellor of North-East Hill University
Yogendra Yadav – social scientist. India
Sajit Krishnan kutty Secretary of The Educators Assisting Children’s Hopes (TEACH)India.
Annie Namala, an activist and head of Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion
Aboobacker Ahmad, vice-president of Muslim Education Society, Kerala.
Status of implementation
A
report on the status of implementation of the Act was released by the
Ministry of Human Resource Development on the one-year anniversary of
the Act. The report admits that 8.1 million children in the age group
6-14 remain out of school and there’s a shortage of 508,000 teachers
country-wide. A shadow report by the RTE Forum, representing the leading
education networks in the country led by Ambarish Rai (a prominent
activist), however, challenging the findings pointing out that several
Supreme Court of India has also intervened to demand implementation of
the Act in the Northeast. It has also provided the legal basis for
ensuring pay parity between teachers in government and government aided
schools.
Haryana Government has assigned the duties and responsibilities to
Block Elementary Education Officers–cum–Block Resource Coordinators
(BEEOs-cum-BRCs) for effective implementation and continuous monitoring
of implementation of Right to Education Act in the State.
Precedents
It
has been pointed out that the RTE act is not new. Universal adult
franchise in the act was opposed since most of the population was
illiterate. Article 45 in the Constitution of India was set up as an act:
The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years
from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory
education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen
years.
As that deadline was about to be passed many decades ago, the education minister at the time, M C Chagla, memorably said:
Our Constitution fathers did not intend that we just set up hovels,
put students there, give untrained teachers, give them bad textbooks, no
playgrounds, and say, we have complied with Article 45 and primary
education is expanding… They meant that real education should be given
to our children between the ages of 6 and 14 – M.C. Chagla, 1964.
In the 1990s, the World Bank funded a number of measures to set up
schools within easy reach of rural communities. This effort was
consolidated in the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan model in the 1990s. RTE
takes the process further, and makes the enrolment of children in
schools a state prerogative.
Criticism
The act has been criticised for being hastily drafted, not consulting many groups active in education, not considering the
quality of education, infringing on the rights of private and religious
minority schools to administer their system, and for excluding children
under six years of age.Many of the ideas are seen as continuing the
policies of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan of the last decade, and the World Bank
funded District Primary Education Programme DPEP
of the ’90s, both of which, while having set up a number of schools in
rural areas, have been criticised for being ineffective and
corruption-ridden.
The quality of education provided by the government school system is
not good. While it remains the largest provider of elementary education
in the
country, forming 80% of all recognised schools, it suffers from shortage
of teachers and infrastructural gaps. Several habitations lack schools
altogether. There are also frequent allegations of government schools
being riddled with absenteeism and mismanagement and of appointments
made on political convenience. Despite the allure of free lunch in the
government schools, many parents send their children to private schools.
Average schoolteacher salaries in private rural schools in some States
(about Rs. 4,000 per month) are considerably lower than those in
government schools. As a result, the proponents of low-cost private
schools critique the government schools as being poor value for money.
Children attending the private schools are seen to be at an
advantage, forming a discrimination against the weakest sections who are
forced to go to government schools. Furthermore, the system has been
criticised as catering to the rural elites who are able to afford school
fees in a country where a large number of families live in absolute
poverty. The act has been criticised as discriminatory for not
addressing these issues. Well-known educationist Anil Sadagopal said of
the hurriedly drafted act:
It is a fraud on our children. It gives neither free education nor
compulsory education. In fact, it only legitimises the present
multi-layered, inferior quality school education system where
discrimination shall continue to prevail.
Entrepreneur Gurcharan Das
noted that 54% of urban children attend private schools, and this rate
is growing at 3% per year. “Even the poor children are abandoning the
government schools. They are leaving because the teachers are not
showing up.” However, other researchers have countered the argument by saying that
the evidence for higher standard of quality in private schools often
disappears when other factors (like family income and parental literacy)
are accounted for.
Public-private partnership
To
address these quality issues, the Act has provisions for compensating
private schools for admission of children under the 25% quota which has
been compared to school vouchers,
whereby parents may “send” their children in any school, private or
public. This measure, along with the increase in PPP (Public Private
Partnership) has been viewed by some organisations such as the All-India
Forum for Right to Education (AIF-RTE), as the state abdicating its
“constitutional obligation towards providing elementary education”.
Infringement on private schools
The Society for Un-aided Private Schools, Rajasthan (in Writ
Petition (Civil) No. 95 of 2010) and as many as 31 others petitioned the
Supreme Court of India
claiming that the act violates the constitutional right of private
managements to run their institutions without governmental interference.
The parties claimed that providing 25 percent reservation for
disadvantaged children in government and private unaided schools is
“unconstitutional.”
Forcing unaided schools to admit 25% disadvantaged students has also
been criticized on the grounds that the government has partly
transferred its constitutional obligation to provide free and compulsory
elementary education to children on “non-state actors,” like private
schools, while collecting a 2% cess on the total tax payable for primary
education.
On 12 April 2012, a three judge bench of the Supreme Court delivered
its judgement by a majority of 2-1. Chief Justice SH Kapadia and
Justice Swatanter Kumar
held that providing such reservation is not unconstitutional, but
stated that the Act will not be applicable to private minority schools
and boarding schools. However, Justice K. S. Panicker Radhakrishnan
dissented with the majority view and held that the Act cannot apply to
both minority and non-minority private schools that do not receive aid
from the government.
In September 2012, the Supreme Court subsequently declined a review petition on the Act.
In May 2016, the Chetpet-based CBSE school Maharishi Vidya Mandir
became embroiled in a scandal over its circumvention of the 25% quota
rule.
During its admissions cycle, the school told economically weaker
parents “the RTE does not exist,” and, “we do not take these [government
RTE] applications.” The senior principal also informed the Tamil Nadu
Regional Director of the CBSE that he intended to “reject applicants
without an email address,” thereby excluding technically illiterate
parents from seeking admissions. In addition, school officials falsified
the distance figures of several poorer candidates in attempts to
disqualify them from availing of the scheme.
Barrier for orphans
The
Act provides for admission of children without any certification.
However, several states have continued pre-existing procedures insisting
that children produce income and caste certificates, BPL cards and
birth certificates. Orphan children are often unable to produce such
documents, even though they are willing to do so. As a result, schools
are not admitting them, as they require the documents as a condition to
admission.
Top 10 Reasons why Education is Extremely Important
Published on Published onApril 9, 2015
Write an article
1. For a happy and stable life
If you want to lead a happy life and enjoy the good things the world
has to offer, you certainly need to get educated. A great job, a good
social reputation are few of the many benefits of being an educated
person. Education is a must for a promising and secure future and a
stable life.
2. Money
An educated person has more chances of landing up a good high paying
job. Everybody wants a good life but the good life!. It may be called as
the “root of all evil” but most people will agree that money is
important for survival in today’s world. The more educated you are, the
better career options you have!
3. Equality
If we want to see the world as a just and fair place where everyone
is given equal opportunities, education is what we require. Education is
a must if we want to do away with the existing differences between
different social classes and genders. It opens a whole world of
opportunities for the poor so that they may have an equal shot at well
paying jobs. Education also plays a major role in women empowerment
4. Makes you self dependent
Education is very important if you want to be a self dependent
person. It helps you become financially independent but that is not
all. Education also makes you wiser so that you can make your own
decisions
5. Turns your dreams into reality
What is your dream, your aim in life? Do you want to become rich? Do
you want to be popular? Do you want to be an extremely successful
person who is respected by people? Well, the key to all this is
education. Of course there are exceptions, like sportsmen who don’t
really owe their success to their education. However in most cases, your
degree is what helps you realize all your dreams.
6. Makes the world a safer and more peaceful place
Education majorly affects our understanding of the difference between
right and wrong. An educated person is well aware of the consequences
of wrong/illegal actions and he is less likely to get influenced and do
something which is not legally/morally right. Also, a number of
uneducated people who live a poverty stricken life owning to lack of
opportunities often turn to illegal ways such as theft and robbery to
solve their problems. If you are educated, you are well aware of your
rights, the law and your responsibilities towards the society. Hence,
education is an important factor which contributes in social harmony and
peace.
7. Makes you confident
Your educational degree is considered as a proof of your knowledge by
many. If you are educated you have more chances of being heard and
taken seriously. Generally, an uneducated man will find it harder to
express his views and opinions owning to lack of confidence. Even if he
does so, people may not take him seriously. Education gives you the
confidence to express your views and opinions.
8. Society
We all live in a society which has its own set spoken/unspoken rules
and one of them is education. The society expects you to go to school
followed by college, get a job, settle down etc. In fact education helps
you become a useful member of the society. An educated member certainly
has a greater chance to contribute to his community. Education helps
you become an active member of the society and participate in the
ongoing changes and developments.
9. For economic growth of the nation
Australia, USA and Japan are few countries with very high literacy
rates. These countries are extremely prosperous and the citizens have a
high per capita income. On the other hand, in underdeveloped and
developing nations, where literacy rate is not as high, a number of
people are still living below the poverty line. Education is vital for
the economic prosperity of a nation!
10. Saves you from being fooled/cheated
Education saves you from being exploited and fooled. We live in a
country where we enjoy a number of rights and freedom. It is easier to
take advantage of innocent and illiterate people. They may be trapped
into signing false documents or be deprived of some right which they
have because unlike an educated person they are not well aware of their
rights and freedoms.
Paleolithic parenting and animated GIFs
By Paul Woodward, February 13, 2018
The creation of the moving image represents a technical advance in the
arts comparable with the invention of the steam engine during the
industrial revolution.
The
transition from static to moving imagery was a watershed event in human
history, through which people discovered a new way of capturing the
visible world — or so it seemed.
It turns out, however, that long
before the advent of civilization, our Paleolithic forebears figured
out that movement seen in living creatures around them could, by cunning
means, be captured in crafted illusions of movement.
Paleolithic parenting and animated GIFs
The
creation of the moving image represents a technical advance in the arts
comparable with the invention of the steam engine during the industrial
revolution.
‘Won’t Allow 3-Language Formula’: TN Parties’ United Front on NEP
TN government and the opposition parties are in up in arms against the three-language formula in NEP.
Smitha TK
Updated: 03 Aug 2020, 05:08 PM IST
Education
4 min read
Tamil
Nadu government and the opposition party in the state seem to be in
consensus about voicing their protest for the three-language formula in
the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020
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The
Tamil Nadu government and the Opposition in the state seem to be united
in their disapproval of the three-language formula in the new National
Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
“Three-language
formula in NEP is painful and saddening. I appeal to Prime Minister
(Narendra Modi) to reconsider. Let the states implement as per the
policy,” Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said in a
statement released on Monday, 3 August.
He
stated that the government has planned to reject the three-language
policy and will continue with the two-language policy practised so far.
Also Read
NEP: Mandarin ‘Dropped’ From Foreign Languages, Edu Min Clarifies
NEP: Mandarin ‘Dropped’ From Foreign Languages, Edu Min Clarifies
What Is the Three-Language Formula?
The
NEP recommends that all students will learn three languages in their
school under the ‘formula’ and at least two of the three languages
should be native to India. For example, if a student in Chennai is
learning Tamil and English, he/she will have to choose to learn another
Indian language. Though the policy dictates that the states can decide
on what the third language would be, political parties in Tamil Nadu
have pointed out that this could lead to Hindi imposition.
The
chief minister mentioned in his statement about how several leaders
like late chief ministers Anna Durai, MGR and Jayalalithaa have been
consistent in expressing their opposition to the imposition of Hindi.
Also Read
Hindi Imposition? Here’s What We Think – In Our Mother Tongue
Hindi Imposition? Here’s What We Think – In Our Mother Tongue
Why Has DMK Demanded a Review?
The
MK Stalin-led opposition, DMK and many other parties in Tamil Nadu have
demanded a review of the reforms proposed by the NEP stating it was
against the Constitution and the interest of the student community.
On
Saturday, during a virtual meeting of DMK district secretaries, MLAs
and MPs, Stalin said that the policy was an attempt at imposition of
Hindi and Sanskrit. NEP is “a glossy coat on the old oppressive
Manusmriti,” he said.
He
questioned why the “successful” 10+2 system was being replaced with
5+3+3+4 and described the vocational education system as a
“psychological attack” on children.
He
urged the Tamil Nadu government to reject the NEP on the grounds that
it was against the rights of the state government and social justice. He
said the creation of a higher education authority to control the state
universities, entrance examination for arts and science colleges, the
permission for foreign universities would deny the states their rights.
“This is an attack on the federal structure being underscored by the Constitution of India.”
MK Stalin, President, DMK
He vowed to fight against it by joining hands with political parties and chief ministers of other states.
Also Read
Won’t Impose Any Language on States: Education Minister on NEP
Won’t Impose Any Language on States: Education Minister on NEP
Why Are Parties Alleging This Is an ‘Attempt to Saffronise?’
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi president Thol Thirumavalavan on Thursday too, urged the state government to reject the NEP.
In
a statement, he said the policy took away the autonomy of states and
attempted to saffronise education. He asked the chief minister to call
for an all-party meeting.
“This is anti-people and against the principles of democracy,” his statement read.
TNCC
president KS Alagiri on Thursday stated that the NEP was an attempt to
saffronise education and said it should not be implemented without
discussion in the Parliament.
He stated that the policy was an attempt to communalise education and aimed to force Sanskrit.
“The Centre is trying to force its ideology of One Nation, One Language, One Culture through this,” he claimed.
Also Read
NEP Misses the Fundamental Goal of Human Development: Congress
NEP Misses the Fundamental Goal of Human Development: Congress
Are Any Parties Seeing Merit in NEP?
PMK
youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Thursday said though the NEP had
good aspects, the proposal of adopting a three-language policy is not
acceptable.
The
general secretary of the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam and nephew of
Sasikala, TTV Dhinakaran urged the state to pick out only those aspects
of the policy that would promote development of the students, while
leaving out those that might not be in the larger interest of the
students.
Also Read
‘60-70% Demands Met’: Decoding Hindutva Impact on NEP 2020
‘60-70% Demands Met’: Decoding Hindutva Impact on NEP 2020
Recalling Protests in TN When NEP Draft was Submitted
The hashtags #TNAgainstHindiImposition and #StopHindiImposition
were trending when the draft of the National Education Policy was
submitted on 31 May 2019, with the bulk of the traffic coming in from
Tamil Nadu. This had sparked a controversy with MK Stalin warning the
Centre that such a move would lead to protests, like in 1965 and 1937.
Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar
had tweeted, both in Tamil and English, assuring that ‘no language will
be imposed’.
Also Read
Part 2: Hits and Misses of NEP Reforms for Higher Education
Part 2: Hits and Misses of NEP Reforms for Higher Education
What is Tamil Nadu’s Long-Standing Contention with Hindi Imposition?
Chief
Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, in his statement, referred to the
anti-Hindi agitation by Tamil Nadu students in 1965 when the Congress
government had attempted to make Hindi the official language.
After
the death of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964, Tamils were apprehensive that
his assurances of continuation of English as an official language would
not be kept. The state government under Congress’ Bhaktavatsalam
introduced the three-language Formula (English-Hindi-Tamil) in Madras
Legislative Assembly.
Then,
Anna Durai announced that 26 January 1965 will be observed as a day of
mourning. When the then chief minister called it blasphemy as it fell on
Republic Day, he advanced the protest to 25 January. He along with
3,000 DMK members were taken into preventive custody. But college
students took forward the protests in Chennai and Tiruchy which soon
turned into violent clashes with Congress workers.
Several
agitators died by suicide – self-immolating and consuming poison – a
number of students were arrested and a lot of public property was
damaged.
Central
ministers from Tamil Nadu, C Subramaniam and OV Alagesan, handed over
their resignation to Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, who promptly
accepted it and forwarded it to the President who refused to accept it.
Finally, the prime minister backed down and made a radio broadcast on 11
February 1965 promising that English would continue to be used for
Centre-state and intrastate communications.
When
Rajiv Gandhi planned to introduce Navodaya schools across India and in
Tamil Nadu in 1986, it was met with statewide protests and suicides.
Late former chief minister Karunanidhi, the pioneer of the DMK, had
rallied over 20,000 party workers in protests, of which 21 men died by
suicide.
The success of the 1965 anti-Hindi agitations helped DMK defeat the then ruling Congress party in 1967.
