Kerala’s Minister for General Education and Employment, V Sivankutty, has strongly condemned the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for renaming English-medium textbooks with Hindi titles, calling the move a “grave illogicality” and a direct threat to India’s linguistic and cultural diversity.

Speaking out on Monday, Sivankutty expressed deep concern over NCERT’s recent decision to assign Hindi names like Mridang, Santoor, and Poorvi to English textbooks traditionally known as Marigold, Raindrops, and Honeysuckle.

“It is absolutely wrong to change the English titles that have been used for decades to respect linguistic diversity and instil a sensitive approach in the minds of children and to shift the focus to Hindi titles like Mridang and Santoor,” said Sivankutty, accusing the central government of attempting to “sabotage the linguistic diversity of the country.”

Kerala, a non-Hindi speaking state, has reaffirmed its commitment to regional cultural autonomy and linguistic pluralism. “This decision by NCERT is a step against federal principles and constitutional values,” the minister asserted.

According to Sivankutty, renaming English-medium books is not just a symbolic change—it represents a larger effort to impose Hindi culture in a multilingual nation. He urged NCERT to roll back the decision and called for unity among all non-Hindi speaking states to oppose what he described as an “undemocratic and one-sided educational policy.”

“Education should not be an instrument of imposition but of empowerment and consensus,” Sivankutty stressed.

The controversy erupted after NCERT published new textbook names for primary and middle school classes. The Class 1 and 2 English books have been renamed Mridang, and a Class 3 book is now titled Santoor. The Class 6 English book, earlier titled Honeysuckle, has been changed to Poorvi.