According to an article published in today’s Guardian (25 December 2022) there is a threat to India’s unity because of attempts by the BJP to impose Hindi language all over India. According to Hannah Ellis-Petersen, PM Modi wants to make Hindi the country’s dominant language. Funnily she claims Modis speeches are exclusively in Hindi. She probably thinks Modi should know all the languages of India. Imagine an Indian journalist saying that PM Rishi Sunak makes all his speeches in English only. Though if pushed Rishi could probably do a speech in Hindi! Hannah claims only 27% of people speak Hindi in India. She qualifies this by saying three-quarters of the country, ‘do’ speak Hindi but not fluently. So according to her that does not count. She admits be-grudgingly that when the Indian Constitution was written in 1949 Hindi and English were declared to be the official languages. Hannah, ‘worries’ that like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh any attempt to impose Hindi will lead to bloodshed in India. If only it was a simple as that. A multitude of reasons led to the blood uprising in these countries.
Here is what PM Modi said from the Red Fort on the 76th Independence day:
Pride should be taken in the variety of languages that exist in the country. He also said that BJP sees a reflection of Indian Culture in every regional language and considers them worth worshiping. He also said that prioritising local languages in the national education policy reflect our commitment to all regional languages.
Hanna need not carry the worry of India’s unity on her shoulders.
Nitin Mehta
25 December 2022.
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