HINDI IS NOT AN ALTERNATIVE TO ENGLISH IN INDIA | WHAT DOES THIS DATA SAY | EPISODE 46

Hindi is the most widely spoken and understood language in our country. Close to 53 crore people know Hindi, that is about 45% of our population. However, this number should not be confused with people whose mother tongue is Hindi.

India is a plural country, with very diverse cultures and languages. We have hundreds of languages which are spoken by us Indians. Therefore, to date, we have not been able to agree on a language, which will be called our National Language.

My question to all of you today is – Does India really need a National Language?

In this episode, I am presenting data with regards to Indian languages, our mother tongue survey, and details about our official languages.
Twenty-two (22) languages have been defined in the 8th schedule of our constitution. I for one could never understand the reason for having the 8th schedule. No government (State of Central) is bound to use the 8th schedule languages as ‘official language’. In fact, another 38 languages are trying to enter this schedule.

So the situation remains ripe for politicians to rake up unnecessary issues.
The issue of ‘imposing Hindi’ keeps popping up periodically, and more often when the northern politicians wish to display their chauvinistic nationalism.

People remain confused about the status of Hindi as the ‘National’ language of India, something that many do not wish to be corrected.
The fact remains, that English is the most widely used language in the government of India and the states put together. Hindi retains the second position. So how easy would it be for a runner up to be able to dislodge the number one?

Also, Hindi speakers are over-counted in India. This is because of the simple fact that many languages speakers – such as Pahari (of Himachal and Uttarakhand) and Bhojpuri (of Bihar) and Chhattisgarhi (of Chhattisgarh) are counted as Hindi speakers.

There are scores of official languages that the states have opted for. Official work all through is carried out without any language restrictions or barriers.

One would always learn a new language when the need arises. There is no need for any government interference.

A National Language is a social, cultural, and more importantly a political tag. To keep intact India’s wonderful diversity, we can well miss out on this one attribute of our languages.

Thank you for watching.

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