Language cauldron

 Several non-BJP states are up in arms over the proposal to make Hindi as the national and link language in India and practically meaning that English will be consigned to history. The first salvo was fired by union home minister and BJP national president Amit Shah on Hindi Diwas when he said Hindi should be the national language to unify India. This led to huge uproar in several states mainly the south. Even in Karnataka, the BJP chief minister B.S. Yediyurapa maintained that all official languages are equal and added that Kannada is the official language as far as Karnataka is concerned. India is a country with a rich heritage incorporating more than 300 regional languages in herself. Though the constitution of India recognises Hindi as a national language , Part XVII of the Constitution of India designates Hindi as the official language of the Union and a clause “or in English” is added for carrying out daily official work. States within India are given the liberty and powers to specify their own official language(s) through legislation. Even though the supporters of Hindi are claiming that over 70 per cent of India speaks Hindi, the reality speaks of a different situation. According to 2001 Census figures, just 45 per cent people speak or know Hindi. However, just 25 per cent people in India have declared Hindi as their mother tongue. A little over 25 crore actually speak Hindi, says Census 2001.The remaining people speak variants of Hindi like Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Maithili, Garhwali, Dogri, Rajasthani, Marwari, Haryanvi etc. All put together, the speakers of Hindi and its dialects are about 45 per cent. It proves that remaining 55 per cent speak non-Hindi languages and the majority people in India don’t even know Hindi. In terms of statistics, 44% of 1.3 billion population of India or 57 crore have Hindi as their mother tongue. All put together, the speakers of Hindi and its dialects are about 45 per cent. It proves that remaining 55 per cent speak non-Hindi languages and the majority people in India don’t even know Hindi. According to the 2001 Census, 42 crore people speak or understand Hindi all over India. According to the Indian Constitution, all 15 major languages in the country are considered national languages and Hindi and English are the two main official languages. What is of deep concern for those who feel apprehensive about imposition of Hindi, was the revised draft of the National Education Policy by the Ministry of HRD , in making the requirement to study Hindi in non-Hindi states. It was abruptly dropped after social media backlash which soon snowballed into an intense political debate. This led newly appointed Education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal had to say that the draft has made some suggestions only and they shouldn’t be mistaken for implemented policy. He also said that, “Public feedback will be sought. No language will be imposed on any state.” The Hindi language controversy was needless and unnecessary. The push attempted has only backfired and pushed back decades of efforts to further popularise the language. Hindi is the most spoken language in India. It is also one of the country’s official languages. Hindi is also the fourth most spoken language in the world after Mandarin, Spanish, and English. Its gradual growth has now been grounded thanks to needless attempt to gain political mileage.