Hindi can't be language of unity: Ravish

Magsaysay award-winning journalist Ravish Kumar on Sunday said the Centre’s view that only Hindi can be India’s lingua franca was nothing but language politics seeking to marginalise the regional languages.

Kumar was speaking after inaugurating www.gourilankeshnews.com, a website dedicated to slain journalist Gauri Lankesh.

He said most of the people who study in Hindi are deprived of job opportunities.

“They are looking towards the western countries for jobs. The number of people who cracked the IAS exam in Hindi is coming down. About 10 lakh students who write exams in Hindi are failing. In such a state, how can it become every Indian’s language?” Kumar asked.

Stressing the need to build bridges between different languages, Ravish said the Centre was trying to build a monolith through Hindi while threatening the people who speak regional languages.