Sundar Pichai gets dragged into Tamil Nadu-Centre 3-language row; Google CEO's 2017 remarks spark new debate
India News | Sundar Pichai's remarks about not knowing Hindi have resurfaced, fuelling the debate on the Tamil Nadu-Centre language policy and its implications on education.
As tensions continue to soar over Tamil Nadu's language policy, Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s old remarks about not knowing Hindi have resurfaced, reigniting the debate.
What did Pichai say?
During a 2017 visit to IIT Kharagpur, Sundar Pichai shared a personal anecdote about his time in college. "I didn’t know Hindi too well when I came here from Chennai. I learned Hindi in college," he had said.
Years later, this statement is making waves again. Tamil Nadu's IT Minister P.T.R. Palanivel Thiagarajan recently used a video of Pichai's remarks on X (formerly Twitter), to slam the three-language model.
Also read | Irony in DMK's Decision: A DMK leader's son created ₹ symbol, which Tamil Nadu govt replaced in budget
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On X, Thiagarajan questioned whether knowing Hindi had any real impact on Pichai's career. Slamming the three-language formula as a "failure", Thiagarajan said that "there is no need to replace a successful two-language system.
"Alphabet, Google's parent company, CEO Sundar Pichai says he doesn’t know Hindi. Did not knowing Hindi hurt him in his career?" he asked.
Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai, an outspoken critic of the ruling DMK, hit back. Posting the video to back the centre's idea of multilingual education, he accused DMK leaders of hypocrisy, claiming that while government schools followed a two-language policy, their own children studied three languages, including foreign ones.
"Learnt about DMK Minister Thiru @ptrmadurai avl’s response to my question yesterday on the hypocrisy of DMK Ministers allowing their children/grandchildren to learn three languages in school while compelling Govt school students to learn only two languages."
"Thiru PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan responded that his sons followed the two-language formula during their schooling but did not mention which two languages. That two-language formula was: First language - English; Second language - French/Spanish. Is this the two-language formula of the TN Govt? Additionally, Google CEO Thiru Sundar Pichai studied three languages in school, including Hindi, contrary to your claim."
Tamil Nadu and three language policy
India's southern state, Tamil Nadu, has long opposed the central government's three-language policy, which mandates Hindi, English, and a regional language in schools. The state firmly adheres to its two-language system—Tamil and English—arguing that Hindi is unnecessary.
(With inputs from agencies)
