Google CEO Sundar Pichai has found himself unexpectedly drawn into Tamil Nadu’s ongoing debate over the state’s resistance to the national three-language policy. The controversy resurfaced after social media users circulated a clip from Pichai’s 2017 IIT Kharagpur visit, where he mentioned learning Hindi during his college years.
While Pichai’s comment was made in a personal context, it has been politicized amid Tamil Nadu’s longstanding opposition to Hindi imposition and its preference for a two-language formula emphasizing Tamil and English. Critics argue that invoking Pichai’s experience oversimplifies the complex cultural and linguistic dynamics at play in the state.
The controversy over the balance between national integration and regional identity has again brought to the forefront the long-standing resistance of Tamil Nadu towards what is seen as central government overreach on the language issue. Enthusiasts of the three-language formula viewed it as fostering multilingualism and national unity.
Pichai has not yet commented on the controversy publicly, but analysts observe that his international profile has unintentionally blown up the local controversy. The incident is a symptom of the Indian sensitivity towards language politics, in which political influence and cultural pride tend to meet.
