All about India's language politics | The Hindu скачать в хорошем качестве

All about India's language politics | The Hindu

All languages are equal but are some languages more equal than others? This is the question being asked by some leaders in the non-Hindi speaking states. The recent recommendations given by the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language has triggered angry reactions The committee has recommended that Hindi will be the medium of instruction in Central institutions of higher education in Hindi-speaking States and regional languages in other States. This has been viewed by some as “hindi imposition”. The Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, M.K Stalin and Pinarayi Vijayan, have called for equal treatment to all the languages specified under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Anti-hindi agitations, particularly in the southern states, are not a new phenomenon. It goes back decades It all began in August 1937, when C. Rajagopalachari, who headed the then Madras Presidency, decided to make Hindi compulsory in secondary schools. E.V. Ramasamy, or Periyar spearheaded an agitation against the move. Later in February 1940, the British government made Hindi optional. In the Constituent Assembly, Hindi was voted as the official language by a single vote. However, it added that English would continue to be used as an associate official language for 15 years. But the agitations took on a different pitch in the 1960s, after the Official Languages Act came into effect in 1963. This made Hindi the official language of the Union government. The agitation hit the streets again and Tamil Nadu was the epicentre of these protests. However, in 1959 the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru had given an assurance in Parliament that English would continue to be in use as long as non-Hindi speaking people wanted it. Through the years, leaders in the Centre have assured that Hindi will not be imposed on the non-hindi speaking states. But all along, actions like change of highway signs to Hindi, or changes in the National education policy have given these states reasons to show their reservations. The Committee of Parliament on Official Language was set up in 1976 under Section 4 of The Official Languages Act, 1963. According to the act, the committee will have 30 MPs - 20 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha. The Union home minister will head this committee. This Committee reviews the progress made in Hindi being used for official purposes. It also makes recommendations to increase the use of Hindi in official communications. In September 2022, the 11th volume of the Report of the Official Language Committee headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, was submitted to President Droupadi Murmu. The recommendations say that English will be permitted to be a medium of instruction in all technical and non-technical institutions only where it is absolutely essential. The idea is to gradually replace English with Hindi. The committee has recommended the removal of English as one of the languages in examinations held for recruitment to the Central services. It has recommended that candidates should have a requisite knowledge of Hindi The union government has always insisted that these recommendations are only to replace English with Hindi and not the local or regional language. On April 8th, 2022, Amit Shah in his statement mentioned that when citizens of States communicate with each other, it should be in the language of India, with Hindi being accepted as an alternative to English. On Hindi day, he stressed that Hindi is a “friend” and not a competitor of the regional languages. Thank you for watching our video! You can subscribe to our channel here: https://bit.ly/3c8Adi6 Visit https://www.thehindu.com/ for the latest updates, analysis, opinions, and more. You can also download our apps: Android: https://bit.ly/3nboBEi iOs: https://apple.co/3EDCwt4 The Hindu is committed to keeping you up-to-date with information on the developments in India and the world. We promise to deliver quality journalism that stays away from vested interest and political propaganda. You can support us by subscribing to our digital offerings here: https://bit.ly/3emywiz Follow us: Twitter:   / the_hindu   Instagram:   / the_hindu   #hindiimposition #antihindiagitation #stophindiimposition