The idea of modern Hindi imposition developed from Hindi and English being designated as an official language of the Indian Republic, with a motion to replace English with Hindi within 15 years of its designation – which has not happened.[2]
Background
In India in 1951, there were around 1,652 languages used as a mother tongue, with 87% of the country's population of approximately 450 million speaking one of 14 different languages. The most popular was Hindi, spoken by around 30% of India's population. Jawaharlal Nehru – the prime minister of India at the time – viewed a lingua franca as necessary due to the diversity of languages. He suggested that the Hindustani language (Hindi–Urdu) was the best option, as it was easy-to-learn, was already spoken by a majority of the population, and was thought to forge unity between Hindu and Muslim communities – whereas English would not be a viable due to the difficulties in educating a foreign language to millions of people. The Constitution of India, therefore, designated Hindi and English as co-official languages, with the latter being phased out within 15 years.[3]
The Constitution of India also states that efforts should be undertaken to promote the use of Hindi – where the three-language formula was suggested. In this format, a student's first language would be their own mother tongue, the second language would be Hindi, and the third language would be English. This was described as an educational burden where Hindi speakers would only have to learn two languages, whereas others would have to learn three, or possibly four languages if one's mother tongue was not the state's official language. Nehru also suggested that efforts should be made to simplify the amount of languages spoken by absorbing variants of Hindi into a single language, and creating one script for Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu.[3][4]
Arguments
Marchers protest celebrations of Hindi Day, on 14 September 2019 in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Modern Hindi imposition has been used as a political tool, with many supporting the use of Hindi as a sole language of India with various arguments, while others oppose this action.[5] The term One Nation, One Language has repeatedly been used to justify the imposition of Hindi.[6]Hindu nationalists have used the phrase "Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan",[7][8][9] and are in favour of imposing a Sanskritised Hindi.[10][11][9]
Uniformity
It has been suggested that the use of Hindi as a national language can unite its population, and can be used as an official medium of communication within India. People from the southern states have stated that it is redundant to use two different languages as a official language, when only one can be used instead.[3][12]
Efforts by politicians to implement the imposition of Hindi has been criticised in the media, suggesting that politicians are calling non-Hindi speakers second-class citizens within their own nation.[13]
To protest attempts at Hindi imposition, an 85-year-old farmer in Salem, Tamil Nadu committed suicide, stating that forcing Hindi in education would heavily disadvantage students.[14]
Suggested remedies
M. K. Stalin, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, and Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala, have both demanded that all languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution receive equal treatment. Vijayan has specifically stated that exam papers for standardised examinations should be prepared in all languages, while Stalin has urged the government of India to promote all languages and maintain equal educational and employment opportunities for speakers of all languages.[2]
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