No Hindi speaking state teaches a south Indian language says VIT Chancellor Viswanathan

The former Chief Minister MGR Memorial Lecture was held at VIT University, Vellore, on Wednesday, presided over by VIT Chancellor Dr. G Viswanathan. Addressing the gathering, he highlighted the late MG Ramachandran’s (MGR) contributions to higher education and language policy in Tamil Nadu.
“MGR introduced the concept of self-financing colleges in Tamil Nadu, which led to the establishment of Vellore Engineering College among the eight self-financing colleges started in 1984. What began with 150 students has now grown into VIT, a globally recognized university with over one lakh students from all Indian states and 70 countries. The credit for this growth goes entirely to MGR,” he said.
Dr. Viswanathan also spoke about the ongoing debate on bilingual versus trilingual education policies. Recalling a resolution passed in Parliament in 1968 under then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, he stated, “The resolution mandated that non-Hindi-speaking states should teach their respective state language, English, and Hindi, while Hindi-speaking states should include Hindi, English, and one of the South Indian languages. However, even after all these years, no Hindi-speaking state teaches a South Indian language as a third language.”
He emphasised that MGR strongly believed bilingualism was the right policy and that one language’s growth should not come at the expense of another.
Touching upon economic disparities, he remarked, “India ranks fifth in global economic growth but stands at 141st in per capita income. This indicates that economic benefits are reaching only a few. The solution lies in increasing awareness, which can only be achieved through education. MGR played a crucial role in advancing higher education in Tamil Nadu, understanding that educational growth is essential for economic progress.”
Former Minister C Ponnaiyan delivered a special speech at the event, while former Minister VV Swaminathan inaugurated a photo exhibition on MGR. The event was attended by former Minister KC Veeramani, Agri Krishna Murthy, VIT Vice President Shankar Viswanathan, Vice President GV Selvam, Vice Chancellor Kanchana Bhaskaran, and other dignitaries.