Imposition of Hindi is not just about another language

Just after independence, even when the highest tax contributors were Calcutta, Madras and Bombay Presidencies and the Hindi belt contributed almost nothing there were higher number of representatives at lawmakers’ post from this Hindi belt. Even back then they had asked for Hindi as the only official language for Central Government which was of course not agreed upon. English was made the other official language. But, this was a blow to the rest of India because now the people from the non-Hindi states cannot use their language to apply for central Government jobs and people from Hindi belt who might not be very well qualified for the job will get an upper hand.

From then on time and again Hindi has been trying to force itself on everyone. There has been continuous resistance from Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and many other non-Hindi speaking states but the fight seems relentless and unending. History knows what the Bengalis can do for their mother language and I only hope that it’s not required to be proved again. Our culture teaches us to treat our tongue and land as mother and that says it all. Who will want to have a step mother leaving his/her own mother? The Indian Union is like a continent where each state is like a country in itself without the National flag and National anthem but that is the speciality of India, that is what is known as unity in diversity. India is like Europe, the only difference being that we have coined down on one currency and that unites us. People who blabber about Nationalism often forget that Nationalism is expressed in hundreds of languages in India or if not hundred at least 22 official languages in India and you cannot just bound the whole patriotism and nationalism to one language – Hindi.

Some people might say that what is wrong in learning another language? It is always good to learn new languages. They must understand one thing, the difference between choice and force. There are plenty of people who come from different parts of the world to learn Bangla to study its rich literature but now if certain Governments around the world forces people to learn Bangla then a hatred for the language will built up, of course they will learn the language but if ever given a chance the first thing they will do is try and forget it and stop himself/herself from using it in any way. The same will happen with Hindi if this imposition continues.

Now let’s talk about the politics behind the same but before that we need to know that even now way more tax is paid by the non-Hindi speaking states like Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra and way more money is invested by the Government for the Hindi belt which is growing by every passing day. Without hurting anyone let me ask a question, ‘Is it a failure for the state if it has implemented family planning successfully?’ You might very well think that I have gone mad but yes this is exactly where the politics is. The Hindi belt states have a very high fertility rate compared to the South Indian states or the states of Punjab, Maharashtra and Bengal. This means that the population of the Hindi belt states is growing at a very fast rate and in measure of percentage is quickly going up by leaps and bounds. This is a failure of the Hindi belt states but the Government is very cleverly trying to take the whole scenario in its for. The next delimitation commission will be set up in 2026 which means that the boundaries of the Lok Sabha seats will be reconsidered and the number of seats will be reallocated to the different states based on census. This if done for sure will make the states with good Governance and family planning lose out seats to the poor ones. This if continues slowly and steadily with time will make the non-Hindi states’ opinion very trivial and purposeless.

This is where the whole politics lies, once the Hindi belt takes command of the whole nation in terms of seats is it not absolutely desirable for them to force Hindi on the whole nation? Imposition of any one language in a diverse country like India is absolutely suicidal for the unity and integrity of the nation although on a outer look it might seem beneficial. Killing the very soul of the nation will not take the nation anywhere. If India decided to stay united it was because everyone agreed upon acknowledging the diversities of the spectrum else, it would have never become one nation. For many it might be just a dumb topic of discussion but for the rest it is a fight for identity and a fight for mother. The whole Hindi politics is being played since independence to give an upper hand to the forty percent of the nation who happens to be ‘majority’ and is a chunk of vote bank who are driven by politics of cows, castes and hindutva. What they often forget is that the nation is mostly run by many from the rest sixty percent. The non-Hindi belt is ahead in literacy but you will still get much more Hindi speakers in central jobs and this has been going on since independence.

This disparity is so nicely established in society that the Hindi speakers very conveniently laugh at a Bengali or Tamilian’s Hindi accent. The division is so well established that Hindi speakers find the Tamilian, Malayali or Bengali names funny and laughable. The inequality is so deep that if a Hindi speaker speaks some absolute nonsense in Bangla, Tamil, Telugu or any other language and that too in his/her Hindi accent then people glorify it to the next level as if we should be really thankful to the Hindi speaker. The only reason behind all these is the normalising of Hindi and Hindi belt accent and treating the rest of India as second class citizens. The roots run really deep and the politics behind it is very well planned.