The debate on language is back, triggered by the statement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the 37th meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee last week, that Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English and not local languages. His statement that citizens of states speaking different languages should communicate in Hindi appears to have brought more discord than unity, as it hasn’t gone down well with those in non-Hindi speaking areas. His speech gave an impression that he wanted to impose the Hindi language to people across the country but such moves will face stiff opposition from several quarters, especially South Indian states and the Northeast where Hindi isn’t widely used for communication. It is alright to promote a language and encourage others to learn it as well. One can’t deny the fact that knowing different languages is an added advantage. For instance, India has advantage over many countries when it comes to ease of business due to proficiency in English and it is also one of the main reasons why multinational companies enter the country. Notwithstanding the advantages, it is not right to force citizens to learn any language. The citizens or states should decide the language they want to use for communication, be it Hindi, English, Tamil or any language for that matter. It is unnecessary to tell people what language they should give preference to.
While bigger states and larger communities are more vocal in opposing any move to impose Hindi, it doesn’t mean smaller communities and states are in consonance with such moves. India, being a multilingual country with 19569 mother tongues as per the 2011 Census, should not impose a particular language at the cost of others. Northeast India alone is home to hundreds of dialects, many of which are facing the danger of extinction. It is also reported that dozens of dialects that were spoken by smaller communities in India have vanished over the past five decades. One may not be able to stop natural death of languages or dialects but can surely avoid deliberate annihilation. When it comes to Hindi, its exponential growth over the years without official mandate is undeniable and this trend will continue. It has become essential to learn the language today, as it has become a lingua franca for major population of the country and is widely used in business and professional life. However, this shift should be allowed to take place naturally and not through imposition. Amit Shah also should throw more light on his claim that all the eight north-eastern states have agreed to make Hindi compulsory in schools up to Class 10. If the claim turns out to be true, the state governments of the region should rethink and take a stand as such a move can have huge implications on students and their future. Backlash from several regions is inevitable as people, who speak dialects with no resemblance to Hindi, are already having a hard time memorising various names of government schemes and terminologies that they have no clue about. Moreover, any perception of imposition may lead to resistance to learning the language.