Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has responded strongly to actor Prakash Raj’s criticism over the ongoing language debate, stating that Hindi is not being imposed under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Kalyan accused opponents of misinterpreting NEP for political gain.

Either imposing a language forcibly or opposing a language blindly; both doesn’t help to achieve the objective of National &Cultural integration of our Bharat.

I had never opposed Hindi as a language. I only opposed making it compulsory. When the NEP 2020 itself does not…

— Pawan Kalyan (@PawanKalyan) March 15, 2025

"Either imposing a language forcibly or opposing a language blindly—both don’t help in achieving national and cultural integration of Bharat," Kalyan wrote.

"NEP Does Not Enforce Hindi" – Pawan Kalyan

Kalyan clarified that he never opposed Hindi as a language but rejected the idea of making it mandatory.
He dismissed claims that NEP 2020 forces students to learn Hindi, calling it a false narrative meant to mislead the public.

"When NEP 2020 itself does not enforce Hindi, spreading falsehoods about its imposition is nothing but an attempt to mislead people," Kalyan asserted.

NEP Promotes Language Choice, Not Imposition

The Janasena Party chief emphasized that the multi-language model under NEP allows students to:

Choose any two Indian languages, including their mother tongue
Opt for a foreign language instead of Hindi

"If they do not wish to study Hindi, they can choose from Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Assamese, Odia, Bengali, Punjabi, Sindhi, Urdu, or any other Indian language," Kalyan explained.

Dismissing accusations of changing his stance, Kalyan insisted that the policy is meant to empower students while preserving linguistic diversity.

"Misinterpreting this policy for political agendas and claiming that I changed my stance only reflects a lack of understanding," he added.

Prakash Raj: "Don’t Impose Hindi On Us"

The verbal spat comes after Prakash Raj criticized Kalyan’s remarks about Tamil Nadu politicians’ opposition to Hindi.

Prakash Raj had earlier posted on X:

"Don’t impose your Hindi language on us. It’s not about hating another language; it’s about protecting our mother tongue and cultural identity with self-respect. Someone, please explain this to Pawan Kalyan garu."

The controversy stems from Kalyan’s speech at the Janasena Party’s foundation day event, where he questioned Tamil Nadu politicians’ opposition to Hindi while benefiting from Hindi-dubbed movies.

"I do not understand why some criticize Sanskrit. Why do Tamil Nadu politicians oppose Hindi while allowing their movies to be dubbed in Hindi for financial gain? They want money from Bollywood but refuse to accept Hindi—what kind of logic is that?" Kalyan had said.

BJP Backs Pawan Kalyan on the Hindi Debate

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has supported Kalyan’s stance, with BJP leader Vikram Randhawa stating:

"Hindi should be promoted aggressively in southern states."

The language debate continues to be a politically sensitive issue, especially in states like Tamil Nadu, where opposition to Hindi imposition has been a long-standing movement.

Language or Politics?

As the debate over Hindi and NEP 2020 intensifies, Kalyan insists that his stance is based on facts, not politics. However, opposition voices, including Prakash Raj, see this as an attempt to push a pro-Hindi narrative.