The statement of Union Home Minister, Shri. Amit Shah, during the 37th meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee in New Delhi, on 7th April that “all eight states of the Northeast region have agreed to make Hindi compulsory subject till class 10” certainly raised some eyebrows in the region.
The issue, of course, is nothing new, as several attempts have been made in the past to make Hindi a compulsory subject across India. However, the very fact that eight north-eastern states has been pinpointed out of the 28 Indian states is something serious to ponder upon.
Immediately after Amit Shan made his statement, there has been a series of response and objections from various states and political leaders, but so far, prominent leaders from the north east have not raised any objections. The silence is deafening, but understandable, considering that most of the north east states are revenue deficit states. Coincidentally, all north eastern states are either ruled by the BJP or are in alliance with the BJP.
Of course, there is nothing wrong in learning Hindi as a language. Rather, it is a rich and beautiful language and can benefit anyone who can read, write and speak the language. But forceful imposition of any language should be opposed as it is against the spirit of plurality, diversity, secularity and democracy.
It is a fact that there is no national language in India. The Constitution of India recognised both Hindi and English as the official language. This constitutional provision has been affirmed by the Official Languages Act of 1963. According to the Census of India of 2001, India has 122 major languages and 1599 other languages. However, figures vary primarily due to differences in definition of the terms “language” and “dialect”. As per the Census of India 2011, there are a total of 121 languages and 270 mother tongues with a speaker strength of ten thousand and above. Among these languages, Hindi is spoken by some 52-crore people out of the 125 crore Indians. That is roughly only 42 percent of the total population. This is one of the reasons why forceful imposition of Hindi will not work in India.
In recent years, there has been an increasing trend of enforcing the might of the majority over the rest. Some groups openly pursue to Indianize the country thorough language and religion. The current dispensation has named almost all government schemes in Hindi. For example, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Swamitva Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana, Swaach Bharat and what not. Non-Hindi speaking people do not even know how to pronounce them, forget about their meaning and purpose. But who cares? So long as you live in India, someone thinks you should read and speak in Hindi. This is the idea of India to some people.
The north east region in India is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse region in the whole of India. The region is inhabited by speakers of over 220 languages, out of which many languages are slipping into the endangered category. According to a recent study conducted by People’s Linguistic Survey of India, there are five tribal languages that are moving towards extinction in India. Linguist experts believe that the most threatened language is Majhi in Sikkim, with just four people who currently speak Majhi and all of them belong to the same family.
The latest National Policy on Education (NEP 2020) is very clear on the three-language formula. It states “the three-language formula will continue to be implemented while keeping in mind the Constitutional provisions, aspirations of the people, regions, and the Union, and the need to promote multilingualism as well as promote national unity. However, there will be a greater flexibility in the three-language formula, and no language will be imposed on any State. The three languages learned by children will be the choices of States, regions, and of course the students themselves, so long as at least two of the three languages are native to India.”
This clearly implies that Hindi or any other Indian language do not have to be compulsory. It’s up to the states or the students to decide any language combination that they feel is ideal for them. The challenge for the north eastern states is to preserve and promote their language, culture and identity in this age of ethnocentrism, monoculturalism and globalisation. Proponents of ethnocentrism and monoculturalism believes in the process of assimilation whereby other minority ethnic groups are expected to adopt the culture and practices of the dominant ethnic group.
Such tenets are against the spirit of Indian democracy which believes in the spirit of ‘unity in diversity’ and in multiculturalism. On the contrary, this is the time to promote multilingualism and multiculturalism which seeks the inclusion of the views and contributions of diverse members of society and, at the same time, withholding the idea for their assimilation into the dominant culture.
The NEP asserts that “children learn and grasp nontrivial concepts more quickly in their home language/mother tongue. Wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language.”
Therefore, in a state like Nagaland, which is inhabited by different tribes and ethnic communities, speaking different language, it is important to give emphasis in the development of our own languages for our own benefit, for our posterity and to save our language from the brink of extinction.
In view of the provisions as envisaged in the NEP 2020, State should also endeavour to allocate more resources towards training and recruiting Naga language teachers and developing text books and literatures in Naga languages.
Dr. N Janbemo Humtsoe
Wokha
janbemolotha@gmail.com