The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit has appealed to teachers and other staff to conduct all official work in Hindi during the month of September.
In an official appeal, dated 1 September, the VC wrote that Hindi Diwas (Hindi Day) is celebrated on 14 September. "During this month, most of the officers and employees of government officices do their official work in Hindi," the vice chancellor wrote.
In the appeal, drafted in Hindi, she wrote that while a lot of the work is already conducted in the rajbhasha or official language – Hindi – the targets are yet to be achieved.
"Hence, I appeal to all teachers, officers, and employees of the university to do most of their official work in Hindi language during the month of September," she said.
'Why Battle Only for One Language?' Ask Student Leaders
Student activists pointed out that while it is only an appeal, the same is not done for other languages.
Objecting to the appeal, N Sai Balaji, national president of All India Students' Association (AISA), told The Quint, "It's unfortunate that a vice chancellor of a central university is openly batting for imposition of one language. JNU, like any other central university, is home to students from various linguistic backgrounds. However, JNU admin has never issued a circular to celebrate a Telugu Diwas, Assamese Day or Bangla Diwas? Why? Are the other languages inferior to Hindi? Is this what the vice chancellor believes?"
He added;
"The language for official communication is English and Hindi. English for non-hindi speaking people and states. For the month of September should all non-Hindi speakers vanish from JNU? No one is against Hindi as a language but we are against imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speakers."N Sai Balaji, National President, AISA
Rohit Kumar, the president of Akhil Bharatitya Vidyarthi Parishad's (ABVP) JNU unit, said, "it is not an order, it is an appeal so it is okay. However, I would like to point out that India is a diverse country with many cultures and languages and all are equally important."
The VC's Past Comments on Language
In July, the VC had told PTI, that pushing for one language or any regional language too hard can lead to regionalism. She had said, "If you push for regional language…we must…but we should push it within the framework of multilingualism. Here I would agree with the three-language formula. Everybody must learn three languages."
She added;
"We say our official languages are two – English and Hindi – but somehow we prefer one to the other. And southern states and non-Hindi state might not agree. If you push it too hard it will lead to demands that Tamil Nadu is making today. It is very sensitive."Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit to PTI
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