Urges PM to modify the directive considering the ‘linguistic sensitivities in our diverse nation’

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday urged the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to take steps to “modify” a recent directive of the Union Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry to all States to celebrate ‘Sanskrit Week’ from Aug 7- Aug 13.

“I request you to advise the officials to suitably modify the letter to enable each State and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools in that State, to organise celebrations in tune with the language and culture of the State,” she said in a letter to Mr. Modi. “This would be in keeping with the cultural and linguistic sensitivities in a diverse country like ours.”

The circular from the HRD Ministry indicated that the ‘Sanskrit week’ celebrations would be conducted by the CBSE, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) schools in all States and State Governments have been requested to organise such events. The issue had sparked condemnation by political parties in Tamil Nadu.

Underscoring that Tamil Nadu “has a rich cultural heritage based on the ancient Tamil language,” Ms. Jayalalithaa said, “It would have been more appropriate to organise a Classical Language Week in each State based on the linguistic heritage of that State.”