The Supreme Court on Monday changed an eight-year-old stay order. It told Tamil Nadu to identify land needed to set up Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) in every district. A Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan asked Tamil Nadu to see the Navodaya scheme as an opportunity, not a threat to its two-language formula. Senior advocate P. Wilson argued fiercely that the scheme was a "backdoor entry" for Hindi in Tamil Nadu. But the court said it only asked the State to identify land, not to "lay the foundation stone". Justice Nagarathna said the issue was about giving education to poor and rural children, not forcing Hindi. She questioned, "You (State) cannot come in the way if they want to study the Central syllabus…How can you deprive them?" Mr. Wilson said Tamil Nadu has the highest enrolment ratio and funds its own schools well. He claimed the Centre owes over ₹3,500 crore to Tamil Nadu and accused it of wanting the State's land resources. "I (State) can build my own schools…We have the highest gross enrolment ratio. Never, ever will any other State match ours," he said. Justice Nagarathna asked if Tamil Nadu was "part of our Republic," stressing that Centre and State must discuss the issue respectfully. She suggested the State use talks to raise complaints, including dues under the Samagra Shiksha scheme. The court gave Tamil Nadu six weeks to identify land for Navodaya schools in all districts. Both State and Centre must then report on their talks about the schools. In 2017, the court stayed a Madras High Court order that had asked Tamil Nadu to start JNVs immediately. The High Court had ordered building spaces for 240 children in each district. JNVs are controversial in Tamil Nadu for requiring Hindi as a third language. The State follows a law from 2006 that mandates only Tamil and English in schools. Tamil Nadu argued education and language policy is its right to decide. The Supreme Court has approved this law before and said courts should not interfere in such State policies unless unconstitutional.