Since the OP asked the question "programming PLATFORM" , i have to say, .NET Framework using C# as primary language, because
a] C# will teach you object orientation
b] It will introduce you to Visual Studio*, which in turn expose you to all the latest development frameworks/paradigms (WCF,WPF,MVC,HTML5,ASP.NET,SQL,Mobile,Sharepoint, Integration Services, SSAS,Data Warehousing, BI etc etc) ). As much as people like to slate Microsoft , at least they got everything covered in one single application and framework and all can be done using C# as the language.
c] Tons of resources and support out there, plenty of out-of-the-box tools and controls to do things faster etc.
In the case of [c] ,this is where a language like Delphi is falling flat, the language itself is fine, but it's literally like using a Blackberry instead of an Android device. The Delphi "platform" is dead. Java, as a language it's fine, but as a platform? It is used in very specific areas, but i never felt the "total experience" was as good as what you get with the .NET framework , but that's just my opinion.
*There are free versions of all the Microsoft tools, i.e. "Visual Studio Express" and "SQL Server Express" . There's really no excuse imho in terms of costs to learn the tools and the language. Yes, if you are going to deploy and scale into larger production environments then the costs will show up, but you will have similar issues with any other language.
Visual Studio Express (Free):
http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/eng/products/visual-studio-express-products
SQL Server Express (Free) :
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/editions/2012-editions/express.aspx