1. What is Hindi Divas? Why is Hindi Divas organized?
Hindi Divas is organized by Government of India on 14th September every year. Hindi Divas is organized at all Central Government offices across the country and general public is encouraged to participate in it. This event is organized to promote usage of Hindi in administration and for general communication by all Indians, irrespective of whether Hindi is their mother tongue or not. This event is funded by the tax payer's money, most of whom are not Hindi speaking.
2. Why do we need to oppose the Hindi Divas / Saptah celebrations? Why should we oppose this official patronage to Hindi?
Although India prides itself as a democracy in the community of nations, it is a sad fact that the Indian constitution calls Hindi together with English as the only two Official Languages of the Indian Union, to the exclusion of the mother-tongues of more than 75 % of India. A close look at India's language policy betrays the sad but dangerous truth of Hindi imperialism, which is but the new face of English imperialism. The very rule that knowledge of Hindi (or English, but preferably Hindi) is an absolute must for entry to Central Govt. jobs is a defeat of democracy. The concept that there should be one and only one administrative language for central government purposes simply does not apply to countries with plural cultures, languages and peoples. Disregarding this basic fact, the central and state governments have geared up to destroy our language and culture, to name our places in Hindi, to use only Hindi in our central govt. offices, to impose Hindi in very way possible, through every available channel, every available medium. Since Hindi imposition is anti-democratic and defeats the pluralistic nature of our country, we need to oppose Hindi imposition. Since Hindi Divas / Saptah are instruments of the Union Government to impose Hindi, we need to oppose this event.
3. Is Hindi the "National language" of India?
India as a nation comprises of various languages and cultures. Every individual represents his language and culture likewise language and culture are symbols of ones identity. India considers itself a federal republic because it comprises of different states which have their own language and culture. There was a strong cultural and administrative reason to form the states based on linguistic affiliation, because of the vast diversity in culture and language. Thus each state has its own official language which mostly differs from that of other states'. That language is the lifeline of the people of state and it represents its culture, since language is the media for communication and inheritance of culture.
Hindi was accepted as official language in some states and it represented the culture of only those states. Nowhere in the constitution is Hindi mentioned as the "National language". According to Indian Constitution, 22 languages are accepted as scheduled languages. Among these 22 languages a single language does not represent India's culture in its entirety. A situation where a single language can represent India's culture can only be made possible by suppressing India's diverse cultures. Hence Hindi is NOT the "National Language" of India.
4. Being a strong votary of Hindi as the national language is considered the litmus test to one's patriotism towards the country? Is this right?
This is absolutely wrong. Efforts of Hindi speaking people to force non-Hindi speaking people to accept Hindi as the sole National language is against the national spirit. In fact those who do this are not patriotic. Linking acceptance of Hindi as National Language & the knowledge of Hindi to a citizen's nationalistic credentials is dangerous and unacceptable.
5. How is Hindi being imposed on on-Hindi speaking people in India?
Hindi has been and is being imposed on non-Hindi speaking citizens of India through various means.
The three main vehicles of imposition are:
- Through Administrative system
- Through Education system
- Through Media and Entertainment
1. The central government through its directives has been encouraging central government offices, banks, insurance companies to transact in Hindi. All these were under the control of the Central Government for almost four and a half decades. The control on these institutions has been fully utilized by the Central Government in its attempt to use Hindi for all official transactions / communication. These departments provide incentives for employees who implement Hindi, promote those who ensure Hindi implementation, provide leave to attend special courses in Hindi, etc.2. Central Government through its three language formula has been systematically forcing Hindi on non-Hindi speakers. Students in the Hindi speaking states never learn a third language whereas students in the non-Hindi speaking states were / are being forced to learn Hindi. Also, wrong information is being taught to students across the country that Hindi is the National Language3. But the most successful way of imposing Hindi on non-Hindi speaking people has been through media and entertainment sector. For almost four and half decades after independence, due to the socialist moorings of the Union Government, there was monopolistic control of radio & television by the Central Government through AIR and Doordarshan respectively. This has been utilized by the Central Government in providing news and entertainment to non-Hindi speaking people ONLY in Hindi for almost 40+ years. This has resulted in creating a huge market for news & entertainment in Hindi which both the Government and the private sector are NOW encashing at the expense of other language media and entertainment industries.
7. What is the impact of the imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking people in India?
This three pronged approach (through administration, education and media / entertainment) to impose Hindi has met with success to a considerable degree in some of the states of India. Many of the languages like Bhojpuri, Maithili, Santhali, Rajasthani, Haryanvi, etc have been systematically reduced to "dialects" of Hindi. Many other languages like Punjabi, Marwari, Gujarati, Bengali, Marathi have lost their entertainment industries and are happy entertaining themselves in Hindi, an alien language to most people living in those states. Students in most of the states have been brainwashed that Hindi is the national language of India. Loyalty and patriotism to the nation has been reduced to acceptance of Hindi as the sole "National" and "Link" language. Any Indian having a different opinion on this is branded as not being nationalist enough! A bigger problem this has created is the false sense of superiority in the Hindi speakers. Their expectation that the whole of India speaks Hindi, their reluctance to learn the language of the place they settle in, arrogance that they display in their interaction with fellow non-Hindi speaking Indians is the biggest threat to national integration.
8. I never knew all this was happening. I am aware of this issue now. What should I do?
• Be aware that Hindi is not the ONLY national language of India. All the languages spoken in India are National languages. Please create this awareness in people around you.
• If you are residing in non-Hindi states, ensure that you conduct all the transactions at central government offices and banks in the language of the land or English. Do not use Hindi.
• Boycott Hindi films and music in non-Hindi speaking states. Encourage the media and entertainment industry of the place you live.
• Boycott schools and colleges that teach ONLY Hindi and not the local language in non-Hindi states.
• In non-Hindi states, converse with Hindi speakers in the language of the land or English. Do not converse / transact with them in Hindi.
3 comments:
Hindi is a disaster. Sanskrit is the Only Indian languase which can be tolerated by people of all region.
By the way visit: www.hinduwisdom.info
We must promote ALL Indian languages as well as english becuase English is a neutral
language .
otherwise we should replace English with a NEUTRAL language like Prakrit
Here are some objections against Hindi: WHY HINDI IS SO DANGEROUS
1.You cannot take the language of one state and promote it as the national
language. This is the opinion of many people I have spoken to.
It creates an artificial politically induced lopsided development . (I will give you an
example shortly )
Tomorrow if we have only Hindi medium schools throughout India , people from 4 hindi
speaking states
due to their natural fluency in the language will get higher marks than me. Plus I have to
learn an additional
language (Telegu) (which he doesn't) for which I have to sacrifice another subject . This is
a double advantage
for a hindi speaker and a double disadvantage for a non-hindi speaker. Within years , people
from 4 states will
take away all the Engineering and Medical seats and all jobs if the private sector is forced
to operate in Hindi .
This will happen right from Kashmir to kanyakumari. This is not based on merit but a
politically engineered differentiation.
This is the end of the day for merit based education in India.
I do agree that English is difficult but it is equally difficult for everybody. That is the
point here.
The only problem is that English creates an urban rural divide, but the onus to solve this
rests with
the state government. Many states like Karnataka and andhra have already taken steps to
solve this. Where's the legal remedy if you take the language of one state and allow it
to replace English ? This is a perfect recipe for disaster and can even wipe out other
languages in the long run.
Otherwise create a new neutral language.
2. Another danger of having one language as the national language are that is encourages
one linguistic group to believe that they are superior to others and are always
in a position to take over the rest of the country. They are also forced
to live in a fools paradise -as a written language Hindi is anyway dead outside the
Hindi speaking states.So, what's the point?
3. Some people want to make hindi an international language. If we make Assamese an
international language, we have to make it a national language first. What happens
to all other Indian languages then?
4. Can you show me any other non-hindi speaking state which accepts Hindi as one of the
official
languages of the state ? None. If tomorrow , West Bengal opens Hindi medium schools in every
village
in Bengal , half of Bihar will be in Bengal . That is the end of Bengali culture which even
the British or
the Muslims and the british did not touch. We cannot allow the language of one state to
replace English as this would undermine
the spirit of the Indian constitution.
Similarly if the the state goverment of Andhra pradesh opens Hindi medium schools in
Vijayawada , it has to open Gujarathi and Marathi medium schools also. That is why
no state government in India allows schools in any language other than the local
language plus English. On what basis should Hindi medium schools be allowed in Vijayawada
and not Malayalam medium schools ? Based on the law of numbers ?
Again, Hindi is the "official language" of the Central government . in Andhra Pradesh,
for example, only Telegu, urdu and English have been given official status .So doesn't
Hindi undermine the federal spirit of the Indian constitution again ? Education is not even
a
central subject as per the indian constitution.
5.Can you also show me one hindi sign board anywhere in India outside a Hindi speaking
state?
I have yet to come across one in my entire life except in a central government office.
6. Again can you show me one private sector company in India which operates in Hindi ?
The private sector considers Hindi to be another regional language like kannada - period.
If the private sector tries to switch over to Hindi people of other language groups will
protest.
So , why force it on the private sector ?
7. Again, all private initiatives give importance to all Indian languages eg Google search
etc.
8.Finally, even if you try to spread keep spreading hindi, human nature being what it is,
the chances are that it will fail.So what is the point in spreading it at all if you are
ultimately not
successful?
Alternatively , you may teach basic Hindi / Hinglish in every state as a spoken language
either in the English script or in the script of the local language, since we do
need one spoken colloquial throught the country.Let us remember only unity in diversity
integrates India in the long run. Hinglish (eg Kal 7'0' clock 100% aaungaa ,sir ) is the
local dialect
in many non-hindi speaking states because it is very simple to learn , but it has no legal
status
or a written form anywhere.
9. No upto date sociologist will accept the theory that a country needs one national
language to stay
united. If you suggest this idea to anybody anywhere in the world, it will become the
international
joke of the century. This is remniscent of early Hindi nationalism (1947-1956).
We can take legal action against them in a court of law and this is the stupidest idea in
the History of
human civiization.Even the muslims and the British did not touch Indian languages three of
which
(Tamil, Telegu and Kannada are more than two thousand years old).
However Hindi will become one of the countries most important spoken lingua francas in
the long run based on the law of demand and supply. HINDI and other languages FOR CULTURAL
EVENTS, MAKING FRIENDS,
WATCHING MOVIES ETC (SINCE ENGLISH IS HOPELESSLY UNSUITED FOR ALL THIS)
AND A NEUTRAL LANUAGE AS AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE WILL ALONE PROMOTE NATIONAL UNITY. And this is
what is happening, "Automatically" based on the law of demand and supply.
10. Again , if India replaces English with Hindi or Malayalam. India will break up in 20
years I can also give
this to you in writing. I CHALLENGE ANYONE TO PROVE ME WRONG. Look at Kashmir.
Why on earth will any Kashmiri educate his children in Hindi, and enslave his children
to people of another state and spoil
the next generations future when Hindi is hardly even a written language anywhere in
India
Just because he speaks Hindi to his carpenter or watchman and
watches Hindi movies , it doesn't mean anything. One needs to do a qualitative analysis.
MOST PARTS OF INDIA HAVE CONNECTIONS WITH SOME OTHER COUNTRY AND NOT WITH THE HINDI
Heartland.
The dream of a Software Engineer from Hyderabad is to go to the USA , not to Lucknow.
11. Again in mulitlingual countries there has always been demand for an neutral language
Eg Bhutan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Singapore etc. Exception Canada: but canada has always
promoted
bilingualism.
12.Tomorrow, if we remove English and replace it with Tamil, Tamil medium schools will
open all over andhra pradesh, and we will be subservient to the people of another state.
If we replace English with Hindi , don't you think the danger to Andhra pradesh's economy
is even greater because Hindi speakers are 8 times greater in number.
Can the reader please carefully think through this?
What benefits will the replacement of English with Hindi bring to the economy of Andhra
Pradesh ? .none, when Hindi has no written form outside the Hindi belt. In the eyes of
any international expert, will this lead to National integration ? Certainly not.
In some ads in Hindi channels , the Kathakali dance of Kerela is shown in the Hindi
language and a complete mockery of the dance is made. Isn't this a disrespect for Indian
culture ?
13. Furthermore, Hindi is just
another Indian language which can be picked up without any difficulty.
Hindi and urdu are virtually the same language.
So it is enough if we make it the third language?
14. Again nehruvian socialist cultural policies are horrendously outdated. They focus only
on the Mughal empire and British empire and provide an Ideal excuse for the BJP
to promote Hindutva. How can this sustain national integration in the long run?
WHAT WE NEED TO DO : ADOPT A UNITY IN DIVERSITY MODEL AND MAKE INDIA THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN
THE WORLD
The greatness of India is its Unity in Diversity . Follow a unity in Diversity
model . Examples countries following this model are
(a) Switzerland
(b) Singapore
(c) Canada
Each state can select link languages based on popular demand (English and other languages
maybe may be)
and compensate other languages for the loss in other ways - spend more money on other
languages since Hindi has already spread and will continue to do so based on the law of
demand and supply. Only Unity in Diversity and a healthy mutual respect for
various Indian cultures sustains National
integration in the long run. You can check out the Switzerland model if you want. You
might also want to know how Unity in Diversity helped Canada from disintegrating.
The Unified Rajbhasha Model was required before liberalization but now common sense
would only indicate based on experience everywhere that a unity in diversity model
is more appropriate.
Take this oft-repeated statement
"Over centralization destroyed India, now liberalization
is reuniting India"
Here is one model you might want to adopt since Hindi has already spread.
The following is my suggestion:
Amend the constitution and
(a) Make all Indian languages National languages as a token of acknowledgement of
the rich diversity of the sub-continent and the
equality of all cultures
(b) Declare English as the recommended Official link language (But leave the choice
to the states)
(c) some states can choose Hindi or other languages as a cultural link language if required.
* Hindi enables poorer people across India to communicate with each other since 40% of
Indians speak Hindi versus 5% english , but that is about it : as a
written language hindi is already dead outside of the Hindi belt. In my opinion
people need to learn the mother tongue first followed by English and Basic Hindi
(optional). Hindi is is mainly useful the wholesale , retail trade and the
entertainment industry and for some amount of emotional bonding. It not only imposes
load on some states but gives more preferences for 4 states with repsect to
job) and some states States , of course get to
decide their own cultural policy . This
includes
(a) Role of the mother tongue
(b) Role of English
(c) Role of Hindi
(d) Role of other Regional languages
This will ensure that the local culture gets first preference.
We need to encourage a Unity in Diversity model . I however support a basic knowledge
of ONE Indian language throughout the country
i.e Hindi (as English requires a formal education). It but let the realization come
voluntarily, let it not be imposed. Ideally
a neutral language such a spoken Prakrit
would have been better but now that Hindi has already spread
throughout most of India , it will keep spreading based on the Law of supply and
demand .We can no longer avoid it.
Several formulas are also available to judge
languages based on Historical significance,
Cultural importance, uniqueness, number of speakers etc ( A lot
of research has been done of this in the
past few years and while maintianing
national integration, such formulas can help
determine the budget spend on other Indian
languages). Dilopmas such as
1. master of all Indian languages
2. Master of Classical indian languages
3. Master of South indian languages
4. Master of Sanksrit, Gujarati, Hindi etc
5. Master of North eastern languages
can be awarded by the central government. Members of each language group can be represented
in a new body that is created to promote Indian languages.This will also give a place
to people from all language groups at the central government and promote national unity.
Alternatively , the centre need not promote any language. Leave it to the states.
This model is followed in the European union. However, certain Central government
organizations like the Indian army can use Hindi as one of their working languages.
What about Simplified Prakrit ?
This is a neutral language. It can be considered as a long term replacement for English.
You can take maximum words from speakers of minority languages to integrate them
better into the mainstream . However take the concurrance of all state governments
first.
Mauritius model
Mauritius encourages people to retain their own customs and languages but encourages
them to interaact
New Three language formula ?
for state board schools
1. States language compulsary first language
2. English compulsary second language
3. An other living indian language for 2-3 years
for English medium
1. English compulsary first language
2. An other living indian language for 10 years
3. Any other indian / foreign language for 2-3 years
States can override this law by making states language compulsary in certain cases
This will
(a) Protect mother tongue in case of transferable jobs
(b) Help indian languages spread evenly and uniformly
(c) Allow the learning of Indian languages to follow demand and supply
(d) Allow languages such as Urdu to be taught
(e) Allow people to travel throughout the country and integrate without losing
their identity
(f) Allow for composite and conversational courses
(g) Allow states to teach each others languages in a fixed number of schools through
mutual agreement
(h) Allow parents to petition for teaching of mother tongue in schools if the
school is willing
(i) Allow for better national integration in the long run without causing ill-feelings
Sujay
Are you publishing any more articles about the state of Kannada in Karnataka? Sadly, almost no people seem to be commenting on the issues you have so eloquently argued.
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