Three-language policy: Why Tamil Nadu sees an old threat in the new CBSE circular

India's three-language policy is back at the centre of national debate, and the argument is the same one it has always been. The CBSE's 2026 mandate to make three languages compulsory up to Class 10 is framed as a step towards multilingualism and national integration. In Tamil Nadu and much of the South, it is being read as something else entirely. The question is not really about languages. It never was.