Video Editor: Vishal Kumar
Once again, the debate on Hindi has started. Those in favour of Hindi have been sloganeering 'Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan', terming Hindi the pride of our culture. It seems as if they will speak Hindi and the country's problem of unemployment will vanish. People who are opposing Hindi are also tensed. As if all other languages will disappear and only Hindi will survive.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, favouring the language, said, “It is very important that a country has one language, which will become India’s identity. If there’s any language that can unite this country, it’s Hindi.”
Questions have been raised on the home minister’s argument that if we don’t speak Hindi, will India’s unity break? Will the country not be recognised in the world? And if Hindi is going to be Hindustan the people speaking other languages will ask – 'Janab Aise Kaise?'
According to 2011 Census:
- India has at least 121 languages
- Out of which 22 are included in the Eighth Schedule of Indian Constitution
- India has at least 68 scripts
- Newspapers are published in over 35 languages
- 43 percent of the population speak Hindi
- 57 percent of the population speak Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Urdu among other languages
Meaning that most people speak Hindi but in every state Hindi is not the first language. And if we are talking about 'one nation one language', then we should know what's happening to this language.
The Language’s Plight
The condition of the language is bad in the biggest Hindi-speaking state. At least 10 lakh UP Board students failed in the language subject in 2019.
In 2019, at least 10 lakh UP Board students failed in Hindi.
UPSC Exams and Hindi
Let’s also talk about Hindi in UPSC exams. The plight of the aspirants coming from Hindi-medium schools is not unknown.
In 2019, the person who scored the most among Hindi-medium students got 337th rank overall – the worst result so far.
Students who passed the civil examination in Hindi medium in 2013 accounted for 17 percent of the total students. This figure was 2.11 percent in 2014, 4.28 percent in 2015, 3.45 percent in 2016 and 4.06 percent in 2017. At the same time, the percentage of candidates selected in Hindi medium in 2018 has come down to 2.16 percent.
What sort of a love is this? Hindi is supposedly going to get India recognition on a world-stage, but those studying it in India are not doing as well.
Why Does BJP Keep Taking a 'Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan' Stance?
It is not without reason that the BJP is showering love on Hindi. Hindi gets politicians into power.
There are 10 states that fall under the Hindi-belt, where Hindi is the primary language – Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Delhi.
Besides that, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat also have no qualms with Hindi. These states account for 50 percent of voters, and have around 230 Lok Sabha seats.
Along with that, four of these states – Jharkhand, Haryana, Delhi and Bihar – are going to polls in 2019 and 2020.
So, the BJP has a benefit in setting the narrative around 'Hindi, Hindu and Hindustan'. And the formula to bring voters together on an emotional issue has proven to be a hit in the past.
In a country where every 100 km, the food, culture and languages change, the imposition of Hindi will be opposed. Be it at the UN or any other platform, leaders like Swami Vivekanand and Atal Bihar Vajpayee have given speeches in Hindi, and the people who did not understand Hindi, used the translation to understand it. The bitter truth is that politicians don’t create languages, common people create them.
And where the language changes at every step, how can we even imagine that one language can be imposed?
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